Takeaways: Steelers win primetime battle over Titans
Steel City Underground presents post-game takeaways from every Pittsburgh Steelers game of the 2023 NFL regular season.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has an outstanding record of wins on his resume during primetime games, and on Thursday night his team battled hard for every inch of turf in a 20-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans to move to 5-3 on the 2023 NFL regular season, extending that streak. The game was a back and forth affair with the Steelers pulling off another upset via a fourth quarter score and a defensive takeaway to keep pace in the AFC North divisional race.
The game wasn’t mistake free, and the officiating featured plenty of flag tosses, but here are some of the key takeaways from the Thursday Night Football victory.
Having offensive coordinator Matt Canada on the sideline instead of in the booth didn’t eliminate conservative play calling on offense, but it did appear to give quarterback Kenny Pickett opportunities to talk one-on-one with the coordinator and his quarterbacks coach. Pickett wasn’t nearly as accurate with his throws in the first half, but improved in the second half and was able to finally get receiver Diontae Johnson his first touchdown reception since 2021. The pass and catch would ultimately be the game winner.
The offensive line looked better with Broderick Jones and Dan Moore both in as tackles; Jones played on the right side. Despite a few hiccups from individuals on the line, the run blocking opened more holes for both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Harris was able to punch into the end zone due to a well-timed block and upfront motion allowed Warren to nearly break out for a touchdown of his own in the game.
The Steelers played a balanced offense, rushing for a season-high 167 yards. Harris gained 69 yards on 16 carries while Warren added 87 yards on 11. Both running backs also helped out in the passing game.
Conversely, Derrick Henry was limited to just 75 yards on 17 carries with the Titans gaining just 105 yards on the ground. Cameron Heyward, Elandon Roberts, and a supporting cast along the defensive front helped keep the Titans from breaking big gains, as Henry’s longest run went for 15 yards even though the big, brushing back was able to punch a short run into the end zone.
Defensively, Pittsburgh applied pressure all night on Tennessee rookie quarterback Will Levis. If Levis wasn’t being forced to move in the pocket, he was hit or sacked by a defense determined to not let the young signal caller run up the score the way he had against the Atlanta Falcons.
Levis was sacked four times for a loss of 27 yards. Alex Highsmith logged 2.0 sacks and 5 QB hits to T.J. Watt‘s 1.0 sacks and 2 QB hits while Markus Golden added 1.0 sacks and a QB hit. Larry Ogunjobi and Cole Holcomb also earned a QB hit a piece in the game.
Not only did the Steelers strike first in the game, but they struck last when linebacker Kwon Alexander intercepted a potential touchdown throw to allow Pittsburgh’s offense to kneel in victory formation in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.
The Steelers didn’t quit when situations weren’t going the way they anticipated; they adjusted. That’s what good NFL teams do. Now, Pittsburgh needs to build off of the mentality that they’re not going to go down without giving absolutely everything they have across the board in every single game.
That it has taken until Week 9 to finally get to that position is likely going to still cause fans concern, and rightly so. This team has needed an identity, and all fans can hope for after the primetime victory is that winning is contagious for the Steelers.
Pittsburgh will get a mini bye as their Week 10 game will be played on November 12 at Acrisure Stadium against the Green Bay Packers. Utilizing that time to once again get healthy and look ahead to what’s needed to remain competitive throughout the second half of the season will be key.
