Pittsburgh stays undefeated as Tennessee rally falls short
“Oh, man. I mean, I was surprised he missed it. Our idea was to go into overtime.” JuJu SmithSchuster, Pittsburgh wide receiver, on Tennessee Titans kicker Stephen Gostkowski’s 45yard fieldgoal attempt
NASHVILLE — The Pittsburgh Steelers stand alone as the AFC’s last undefeated team because of a dominant start and a bit of late luck.
Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes to Diontae Johnson, and the Steelers remained perfect by holding off Tennessee for a 2724 victory Sunday in a game postponed three weeks after the Titans came down with the NFL’s first coronavirus outbreak of the season.
In a matchup of the conference’s two remaining unbeaten teams, the Titans rallied by scoring 17 straight after being smothered in the first half.
They failed to complete the comeback when Stephen Gostkowski, who made a 51yarder earlier, missed wide right from 45 yards with 14 seconds left, sending the Steelers running around the field in celebration and stunning the Titans ( 51). Even Roethlisberger appeared shocked the fourtime Pro Bowl kicker missed.
“Oh, man. I mean, I was surprised he missed it,” Pittsburgh wide receiver JuJu SmithSchuster said. “Our idea was to go into overtime. A good kicker. It’s tough. It’s good for us.”
The Steelers improved to 60 for their best start since 1978, when Pittsburgh won its first seven on the way to the Super Bowl. This was just the fifth time undefeated teams had met in Week 7 or later, and the winner of the previous four all made the Super Bowl.
“We feel we have a really good football team,” Roethlisberger said. “We feel we can be really special. … That’s going to be a shortlived happiness because we know what’s coming next.”
What comes next? A matchup with the rival Ravens.
“We are perfect from a record standpoint, and so we respect that,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said. “We realize that we’ve got AFC North ball on next week on the road. We’re going to a group that has seven days’ advantage on us, so there’s a lot for us to be urgent about.”
Benny Snell Jr. added a 1yard TD run, and RayRay McCloud set up a touchdown with a 57yard punt return. Pittsburgh scored at least 26 points for a sixth straight game to tie a stretch in 2015 for the longest in franchise history.
The Steelers were without cornerback Mike Hilton, one of their best blitzers, not that the NFL’s No. 2 defense in both yards and points allowed missed him much. Pittsburgh outgained Tennessee 362292 and held the NFL’s secondbest scoring offense under 31 points for the first time since the opening week of the season.
But the Titans had won four of their first five by rallying in the final two minutes of regulation or overtime, and they appeared ready to add another.
“It was a gut punch to see that kick go wide right,” Tennessee QB Ryan Tannehill said.