Steelers vs. Titans score: Kenny Pickett, run game fuel Pittsburgh’s comeback over Tennessee on Thursday night

If the Pittsburgh Steelers make something out of the 2023 season, the turning point may have come during Thursday night’s 20-16 win over the Tennessee Titans. Specifically, the game could be a turning point for quarterback Kenny Pickett, who made several clutch plays late in the game that included his game-winning touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson. 

As expected, it was a back-and-forth game between two mostly defensive-minded teams. Pittsburgh struck first on Najee Harris’ 10-yard touchdown run to open the game, but the Titans rallied to take a 13-10 halftime lead behind several clutch plays from rookie quarterback Will Levis, who was making just his second career start and first road start. 

The Titans led 16-13 before Pickett led Pittsburgh’s offense on an 11-play, 92-yard drive that culminated with his three-yard touchdown pass to Johnson, who hauled in his first scoring pass since the 2021 playoffs. Pittsburgh’s defense sealed the win with Kwon Alexander’s end zone pick of Levis with six seconds left. 

Both teams suffered notable injuries on Thursday night. Steelers inside linebacker Cole Holcumb sustained what was described during the broadcast as a gruesome knee injury. Titans wideout Treylon Burks was carted off the field late in the game but he was reportedly seen walking to the team bus afterwords. 

Here’s a closer look the NFL’s first game of Week 9. 

How the Steelers won 

Once again, Pittsburgh rallied from behind to win a game it trailed in for large stretches. The Steelers’ five comeback wins this season are the most in franchise history through eight games since the 1997 team that got to within a game of the Super Bowl. 

Pickett engineered his seventh game-winning drive in either the fourth quarter or overtime since the start of the 2022 season, the second-most such drives in the NFL over that span (only Kirk Cousins has more). Pickett did so by spreading the ball around while also leaning on his rapport with Johnson, who led both teams with 90 yards on seven catches. 

While the Steelers’ rallying wasn’t new, Pittsburgh received a resurgence from their running game. With rookie Broderick Jones making his first start at right tackle, Harris and fellow running back Jaylen Warren ran for a combined 156 yards on 27 carries. 

Defensively, Pittsburgh continues to gobble up turnovers and sacks at an alarming rate. Alex Highsmith had two of the unit’s four sacks of Levis, while Alexander’s pick marked the 16th forced turnover of the season for Mike Tomlin’s defense. 

Why the Titans lost 

Levis played about as well as could be expected, but he and his unit weren’t able to do much on their last three possessions. For whatever reason, the Titans forgot to feed Derrick Henry, who had just three carries over that span after scoring Tennessee’s lone touchdown earlier in the game. 

As noted above, the Titans appeared to have found something in Levis, who threw for 262 yards, including this big completion to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine that set up Henry’s go-ahead score. 

They said that the final drive of the first half and the first drive of the second half can be the difference in games. That could be said of Thursday night’s game, as the Titans’ defense gave up field goals in both situations. Those points ended up being the difference in the game. 

Turning point 

Pittsburgh was trailing before Pickett hit Johnson for a 32-yard catch on a third-and-6 play with 5:06 left. The big play set up the duo’s game-winning score. 

Play of the game

It has to be Johnson’s touchdown, which was the byproduct of a nice play design and good execution from Pittsburgh’s offense. 

Second place goes to Watt, who despite losing his helmet was able to register a sack of Levis in the first half. 

Quotable 

“I think it was great for communication. We talk on the headphones all the time. But to go to each unit within the offense and talk to guys about what our plan is and how we want to attack each drive, I think it worked well for us tonight.” — Pickett on PRIME’s postgame when asked about offensive coordinator Matt Canada working from the sideline for the first time on Thursday night. 

What’s next

Pittsburgh will stay at home against the Packers, who are 2-5 entering Sunday’s home game against the Los Angeles Rams. Tennessee will play in its second of three straight road games when it faces the Buccaneers in Tampa. After a 3-1 start, the Buccaneers are 3-4 entering their road game this Sunday against the Houston Texans.