The Pittsburgh Steelers Have Nothing For The Titans

Titans make 2 point blunder on the kickoff

     The Steelers had nothnig Sunday for the Titans, but the Titans had a gift for Pittsburgh to start the game. The Tennessee Titans had the ugliest start to the season you’ll ever see on Sunday in Pittsburgh, as returner Darius Reynaud picked up the opening kickoff at the 1-yard line and then kneeled into the end zone for a safety. But after that, it was the Steelers who were ugly.
Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead on Reynaud’s bonehead play, but it was all Titans from then on, as the Steelers’ offense was horrendous and the Titans won 16-9.

      The Pittsburgh Steelers lost center Maurkice Pouncey to an early knee injury, and their offense was terrible all game. Ben Roethlisberger threw for just 191 yards on 21-of-33 passing, and his first touchdown pass didn’t come until late in the fourth quarter, when the game was all but over.
Tennessee’s offense wasn’t anything to write home about, either: Jake Locker went 11-for-20 for 125 yards, while Chris Johnson picked up just 70 yards on 25 carries. But the Titans had no interceptions and no fumbles, while the Steelers had one of each, and Tennessee did enough to win an ugly game.
For the Titans, this win wasn’t particularly impressive, but they’ll gladly take a 1-0 start to the season. The Steelers need to fix their offense in a hurry.

Big Ben And Max Starks Stand Tall In 38-17 Steelers Win

Ben Roethlisberger tied the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise record with Terry Bradshaw and Mark Malone despite having a sprained left foot that forced him to wear a specialized shoe. Though he limped considerably during the game, he was mobile enough to complete 24 of 34 passes for 228 yards while throwing two touchdowns to Hines Ward and one each to Mike Wallace, Heath Miller and David Johnson. "He's A-player," Tomlin said. "He's got to play in order for us to do well."

An unlikely hero emerged on the Steelers decimated offensive line. Seven days ago, Max Starks was wondering if he'd ever play in the NFL again. A week later, he was back in a familiar spot, giving Ben Roethlisberger time to do his what he does best. "He stepped up," Roethlisberger said after tying a career high with five touchdown passes. "We brought him to town this week and it's like 'OK, let's see how we're going to use him.'"

It turned out even more than Starks or the Steelers thought. A knee injury to center Maurkice Pouncey and a shoulder injury to tackle Marcus Gilbert turned Starks' part-time debut into full-time work. He played almost every snap in his first action since hurting his neck last November. Starks received the game ball from Steelers coach Mike Tomlin after the Pittsburgh rolled over the Tennessee Titans 38-17 on Sunday. That's not bad for a guy who hadn't played a game for almost a year.

The injury appeared to put his career in jeopardy. The team cut him after seven seasons before training camp to save money. Starks spent two months getting back into shape and waiting for a call. When it came from the 3-2 Steelers, he didn't let it go to waste. "Our biggest goal was to keep Roethlisberger upright," Starks said. "And we knew he'd perform if we did that."

"It's a good win for us," Tomlin said. "Hopefully it will provide momentum for us as we move forward." It's the kind of performance Tomlin was looking for after watching his team get rolled by Houston a week ago. A month into the season, the Steelers finally looked like the team that were  AFC champions a year ago. Even though the defense was missing James Harrison, Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith, they held Tennessee running back Chris Johnson to 51 yards on 14 carries and sacked QB Matt Hasselbeck three times.