Steel City Underground presents our 2017 Recall: a brief look back at Pittsburgh Steelers games from last season.

It’s crazy how things work. The Steelers were supposed to be a machine in 2017; that is, run over every opponent they would face.

Through ten weeks of the 2017 regular season, Pittsburgh had escaped close calls against the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts. While they were also supposed to be a bad road team, they won all of those games on the road.

In addition, they also ended Kanas City’s 5-0 unbeaten streak… also on the road.

So, you’d think the team should be better at home, since they “suck” away from Heinz Field?

Well, with some shoddy showings against the teams mentioned above, as well as losses to the Bears and Jaguars, there were still naysayers as the Steelers brought a 7-2 record back home on a short week’s rest for a Thursday Night battle with the Tennessee Titans. The Titans were an improved team coasting on a 6-3 record, nipping at Pittsburgh’s heels in the AFC playoff race.

There was cause for concern: until after the ball was kicked off. The Steelers got the ball first with the Titans opting to kick.

It was a costly choice.

Coming out early in the no-huddle, up-tempo offense, Roethlisberger found target after target before making a fantastic pass to Antonio Brown in the end zone. It would be just the first of three touchdowns the veteran receiver would have on the night. His best was a one-hand-to-helmet catch for his third score.

Speaking of three’s: the Steelers defense didn’t want to get left out so Mike Hilton, Coty Sensabaugh and Robert Golden all grabbed interceptions… and then Sean Davis added another pick off of Marcus Mariota in the fourth quarter for four total on the game. (Way to one-up everyone there defensive backfield!)

That was the most by a Steelers defense in two decades.

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The Steelers did a nice job of pressuring Titans QB Marcus Mariota and limiting big rushing plays but they did have a breakdown on defense when Rishard Matthews caught a long pass for a 75-yard touchdown. Mariota was able to thread the ball between the corner and deep safety, but after that, the defense played hard, tough football.

T.J. Watt was the recipient of a very hot hand when he blocked a Ryan Succop field goal attempt. Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Vince Williams all had sacks as the defense was able to penetrate the Titans offensive line.

.@CamHeyward broke a tie with Brett Keisel for sole possession of the 3rd-most sacks by a #Steelers DL since sacks became official in 1982. pic.twitter.com/ehsRR77wNM

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 17, 2017

Although Le’Veon Bell did not have a runaway game on the ground, he was able to put up decent stats and score a touchdown on the ground. Tight end Jesse James earned himself a touchdown as he stood wide open in the end zone for a nice soft toss from Ben Roethlisberger, who looked more comfortable in front of the home crowd.

By the time the third quarter rolled around, the energy coming from the team was electric, but they really poured it on in the fourth, making sure the Titans would not have a comeback bid.

Chris Boswell was also perfect on the night in both field goals and point-after attempts.

There has been a lot of talk about the Steelers being unable to score 30 points in a game during the season. In primetime, they scored 40 on a Titans team they were evenly matched with. The complete team effort in the 40-17 victory moved Pittsburgh to an 8-2 for the season before a mini-bye.

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What Stood Out

Color Rush

For the second time since their introduction in 2016, the Steelers broke out their color rush uniforms for the special primetime occasion.

Say What?!

Even with a game full of scoring, something as simple as an audible at the line of scrimmage stood out the most in this primetime encounter.

In the fourth quarter, you can certainly hear Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger yell “Dilly Dilly”, an ode to a current Bud Light commercial, as he changes the play!

“Dilly Dilly” would live on in infamy for weeks to come!

https://twitter.com/BoilerRoom247/status/931377828536508416

Big Ben’s big day

Roethlisberger became the ninth player in NFL history to reach 4,000 pass completions following his 30-completion, 299-yard and 4 touchdown performance.

Pass Happy

For weeks people had criticized the Steelers lack of explosiveness with all of the offensive weapons they have.

In this game they looked feeble in the first half but blew the top off of the game before it was over. Roethlisberger attempted 45 passes. Ten of those were caught by Antonio Brown for 144 yards… and a whopping three touchdowns!

Blocked Kick

Just when it looked like the Steelers were going to play another tight game, the special teams unit converged to block a Ryan Succop field goal attempt which would’ve tied the game at ten-all.

Instead, the Steelers held a 10-7 lead, before Coty Sensabaugh (playing for an injured Joe Haden) picks off Mariota and gives the Steelers the ball in redzone territory.

Still Sloppy

Antonio Brown had an amazing catch and run before the end of the half but fumbled the football. Luckily, Martavis Bryant dives on the ball, saving an opportunity for Boswell to boot another field goal to give the Steelers a 16-7 edge before halftime.

Then it got worse: Rishard Mathews catches a wide-open bomb for a 75-yard touchdown on the opening play of the second half, closing the gap to 16-14 with the Steelers up two.

Scoring 40

The #Steelers have scored at least 30 points in a regular season game @heinzfield for the 42nd time since the stadium opened in 2001.

Pittsburgh is 37-3-1 in their previous 41 games @heinzfield with 30 or more points.

— Dom Rinelli (@drinelli) November 17, 2017

Blitzburgh

The Steelers defense sacked Titans QB Marcus Mariota five times in this game, while they also forced four turnovers. It was the difference maker in the game, as Tennessee almost equaled Pittsburgh in time of possession as well as total yards.

Play of the Game

Seriously how does this guy do it?

At the very least the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver is half-man and half-amazing, as evidenced by his huge night on a November edition of Thursday Night Football. This catch wasn’t even caught with both hands! Brown snags the score by using one hand and his helmet as he tip-toes in the corner of the end zone to complete his “hat trick” or trifecta of TDs on the evening.

The touchdown celebration was absolutely perfect for the occasion too – as a homage to the movie Wayne’s World JuJu Smith-Schuster bows to Brown.

We’re not worthy Antonio…. we’re not worthy!