Roethlisberger completed 33-of-43 passes for 363 yards, including 63 yards
on the opening possession of overtime to set up Jeff Reed’s 33-yard
game-winning field goal.
The victory, however, was costly as the Steelers lost safety Troy Polamalu
to a sprained knee in the second quarter. The severity of the injury was
unknown at press time. He was replaced by Tyrone Carter.
“It is an MCL sprain,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin of the injury
to Polamalu. “They are reading the scans and so forth. Those things have a
range of three-to-six weeks. It is speculation at this point.”
What is not up for speculation is the mettle Roethlisberger shows with the
game on the line.
With 11:03 remaining in the game, Tennessee took a 10-7 lead on a 45-yard
field goal by Rod Bironas, who had missed two earlier attempts.
The Steelers went into a no-huddle offense and Roethlisberger was nearly
perfect, taking the Steelers to the Tennessee nine. But Mewelde Moore was
stopped twice on short-yardage carries and Pittsburgh was forced to settle
for a 32-yard field goal by Reed to tie the score at 10-10 with 2:57
remaining.
After picking up one first down, the Steelers pressured Tennessee quarter
Kerry Collins, who threw for 244 yards and a touchdown, into three
straight incompletions to get the ball back.
A 28-yard Craig Hentrich punt gave Pittsburgh the ball at its own 42 with
just under two minutes remaining and the Steelers looked as if they were
going to win the game in regulation as Ben Roethlisberger hit a wide open
Hines Ward over the middle. Ward ran to the Tennessee four but safety
Michael Griffin stripped Ward of the ball from behind and Tennessee
recovered with 51 seconds remaining and ran out the clock.
“All I had to do was fall down and we go out and kick a field goal to win
the game, but I though I had a chance to score,” said Ward, who finished
with eight receptions for 103 yards. “I didn’t see (Griffin) coming from
behind me. It was a good play on his part.”
Pittsburgh won the toss and Roethllisberger, without any semblence of a
running game, led the Steelers on the game-winning drive, hitting
five-of-eight passes during the drive.
“What was he, like 33 for 43?” asked wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who
caught nine passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, the same exact numbers
he finished with in the Steelers’ Super Bowl victory in February.
“When he’s able to scramble, those defensive linemen get tired. And he’s
able to call the plays that he wants to run.”
While the passing game flourished, the running game struggled mightily.
Pittsburgh finished with 36 yards on the ground on 23 carries.
The Steelers also started slowly, failing to take advantage of good field
position in the first quarter. The Steelers managed just one yard of total
offense in the first quarter, thanks mostly to a pair of sacks.
The first was a costly one, as Roethlisberger attempted to do his usual
scramble out of trouble on third down from the Tennessee 22 in the first
quarter.
As Roethlisberger twisted and turned, running out of the grasp out of a
would-be tackler, he kept moving backward and wound up taking a 19-yard
loss at the hands of Jason Jones.
But while the Steelers were stuck in reverse, the Titans were moving the
ball with no results as well.
The Titans drove to the Pittsburgh 22 following the sack of
Roethlisberger, but a poor snap on a 37-yard field goal attempt caused
Bironas to push the ball to the right.
On Tennessee’s next possession, the Titans drove to the Pittsburgh 44, but
Polamalu made a leaping, one-handed interception of a pass intended for
rookie receiver Kenny Britt at the 5-yard line and returned it to the 20
to thwart the Titans once again.
Roethlisberger was intercepted by safety Vincent Fuller at the Pittsburgh
44, but the Titans again were unable to take advantage as Collins was
sacked by James Farrior for a 10-yard loss on third down from the 34 to
take Tennessee out of field goal range.
Bironas then had a 31-yard field goal blocked by defensive end Aaron Smith
with 2:22 remaining in the first half. Polamalu was injured on the ensuing
scramble for the ball when a mass of players fell on his left knee.
Roethlisberger finally heated up on Pittsburgh’s next possession, quickly
moving the Steelers down the field in the no-huddle and throwing a 34-yard
TD pass to Holmes to put the Steelers ahead 7-0 with 1:22 left in the
second quarter.
It turned out the score came too quickly, however, as Collins tied the
score just 34 seconds later, moving the Titans 71 yards in three plays –
including a 57-yard catch-and-run by rookie Kenny Britt when the Steelers
got caught with just 10 defenders on the field – finishing the drive off
with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Justin Gage.