Another road trip, another loss. Reminds one of Ground Hog Day.
In my last piece, I posted the following: "Hasselbeck cannot be taken lightly by the Steelers. He's a 14-year veteran...He's also a three-time pro-bowler."
The Titans edged the Steelers not only in the final score, but in several other important categories. Titans managed 21 first downs to the Steelers 19. Titans edged the Steelers slightly in time of possession but surpassed the Steelers in total plays 69-63. And even though total for both teams was 22, Titans almost doubled the Steelers average yards-per rush, 4.3 to 2.5.
Batch had 22 yards rushing on 10 carries. Redman had 14 on 5 carries. Mendenhall had 6 yards on 6 carries.
Redman came up big with 105 yards on 4 receptions while Wallace had 94 yards on 2 receptions. Heath Miller added 67 yards on 6 receptions.
Once again, Ben outplayed his counterpart. He was 24 for 40 with 356 total net yards passing compared to Hasselbeck's 265 yards. Each QB had 1 TD and 1 interception.
The key stat that put the fork into the Steelers late in the game was Shawn Suisham missing a 54-yard field goal attempt with only 49 seconds remaining in the game. He had connected with a 52-yarder earlier in the game. That miss was followed later with a successful FG by Rob Bironas of the Titans, a 40-yarder as time expired.
In that same piece, I posted the numbers for the Steelers, the good and the bad. Those numbers give Steeler fans a clear indication of why this team is having problems this season.
The other problems (of many) was reflected in Roethlisberg's comments after the game: "We're not scoring enough points, and we're not making the play when we need to."
Coach Tomlin added: "We have to look at everything. We have to coach better; we have to play better."
One fact is also certain. The lack of success can also be attributed to the long list of Steelers who are injured (below). This includes injuries on both sides of the line.
Injuries
Center Maurkice Pouncey injured his right leg on the first play of the game. RT Marcus Gilbert hurt his right ankle. RB Mendenhall went down with an Achilles injury. Polamalu and Woodley sat due to injuries.
Notes:
- Roethlisberger surpassed Terry Bradshaw. He now has 28,066 yards.
- Steelers are now 2-3. Last year at this time, they were 3-2.
- In 2003, Steelers five straight to close the first half of the season at 2-6. They finished 6-10 that season.
- Steelers are allowing 23 points per game this season up from 14.2 last season.
Sources: Steelers.com, Steeler Depot, SportsSnipe, Bleecher Report, Fox Sports
