NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers edge out Tennessee Titans
Tuesday 18 November 2014 08:10, UK
Antonio Brown’s touchdown with nine minutes remaining gave Pittsburgh Steelers a hard-fought 27-24 victory over Tennessee Titans on Monday.
The score, from Ben Roethlisberger’s 12-yard throw, capped an impressive second-half rally from the Steelers, who now have sole possession of second place in AFC North heading into their bye.
The Titans (2-8) blew a 24-13 lead, having initially trailed 10-0 thanks largely to William Gay’s interception touchdown, to suffer their fourth consecutive loss.
They sacked Roethlisberger five times and intercepted a pass in the end zone, while Zach Mettenberger threw for 263 yards and two touchdown passes, and fellow rookie Bishop Sankey ran for another score.
However, the Steelers (7-4) battled back with Le'Veon Bell running for 204 yards and a TD before Brown’s winning contribution.
Mettenberger and the Titans got off to an awful start as Suisham kicked a 49-yarder for the first score of the game before Gay picked off Mettenberger on the Titans' first offensive play and returned it for the TD.
But they hit back in style, sacking Roethlisberger three times in the second quarter, with Jason McCourty picking off a pass intended for Brown in the end zone with 44 seconds left in the first half.
The Titans called timeout, and then Mettenberger threw to a wide-open Nate Washington, who beat Gay with a stutter-step on his way to a career-best 80-yard touchdown reception.
Mettenberger added a 4-yard TD pass to Chase Coffman in the third quarter, capping an 11-play drive for a 24-13 lead.
The Steelers responded with Bell's 5-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth, and Roethlisberger's TD to Brown was enough for the win.
