Bell, Steelers in a rush, rally to beat Titans
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell (26) runs the ball against the Tennessee Titans in the second half Monday. The Steelers won 27-24. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown leaves the field after beating the Tennessee Titans 27-24 Monday in Nashville. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After Le’Veon Bell failed to gain 100 yards of offense in the past two games, the Steelers were determined to get their star running back on track.
In fact, Bell and the offensive line set a goal heading into Monday night’s game against Tennessee for the running back to gain 150 yards on the ground.
Consider the mission accomplished.
Bell rushed for a career-high 204 yards on 33 carries as the Steelers defeated the Titans, 27-24, at LP Field.
The Steelers improved to 7-4 and sent Tennessee to 2-8, but it wasn’t easy.
After jumping out to a 13-7 lead, the Steelers fell behind, 24-13, before mounting a fourth-quarter comeback.
Bell, who had at least 100 total yards in each of the Steelers’ first eight games, had been held to just 56 yards on 21 carries over the past two games.
But he repeatedly battered the Titans, easily surpassing his previous career best of 147 yards set earlier this season in a win at Carolina.
“When (Bell) gets the ball in his hands, you never know what’s going to happen,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who passed for 207 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
“It’s like poetry in motion.”
The Steelers started much better than they had a week earlier against the New York Jets when they were outscored 17-0 in the first quarter.
Pittsburgh got a 49-yard field goal from Shaun Suisham on the game’s opening possession to take a 3-0 lead.
Then, on Tennessee’s first play from scrimmage, William Gay intercepted a pass by rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger that was thrown behind wide receiver Justin Hunter and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown and a 10-0 Pittsburgh lead.
The Titans, however, answered with a touchdown on their next possession, getting a 9-yard scoring run from rookie running back Bishop Sankey, who broke four tackles on his way to the end zone, cutting the Steelers’ lead to 10-7.
A holding penalty on the ensuing kickoff gave the Steelers the ball at their own 9 for their next possession, and Pittsburgh drove 85 yards only to settle for another Suisham field goal and a 13-7 lead. The field goal came after Roethlisberger overthrew Bell and Martavis Bryant in the end zone on back-to-back plays.
The Titans then drove to the Pittsburgh 2 before settling for a 20-yard Ryan Succop field goal that trimmed the Steelers’ lead to 13-10 early in the second quarter.
The Steelers appeared to be heading to another score with less than one minute remaining in the first half, but Roethlisberger was intercepted by Devin McCourty on a pass intended for Brown.
“It was just a bad play on my part,” said Roethlisberger. “AB kind of killed the corner and was wide open and I didn’t put enough on it.”
On the first play after the turnover, Mettenberger found former Steelers wide receiver Nate Washington alone behind the Pittsburgh secondary for an 80-yard touchdown pass that gave Tennessee a 17-13 halftime lead. Gay appeared to bite on a double move by Washington and had no safety help on the play.
“They dialed up a double move and got us,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “They protected it, they ran a good route and he executed a throw. At the same time … that’s unacceptable. We’ve got to be better than that.”
The Titans pushed their advantage to 24-13 late in the third quarter when Mettenberger connected with tight end Chase Coffman for a 4-yard touchdown pass on a jump ball over cornerback Antwon Blake.
“We didn’t panic or anything like that,” said Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey. “We knew if we just kept doing what we were doing, we would be OK.”
That included more running from Bell, who bulled his way into the end zone from five yards to trim the Titans’ lead to 24-20 early in the fourth quarter.
“Late in the game, those guys were starting to slide off a little easier,” said Bell. “Running the ball is kind of like boxing matches and body punches. They might not always be pretty, but they wear those guys out over the course of the fight and eventually knock them out. That’s what happened (in this game.).”
The Steelers’ defense then forced a three-and-out on Tennessee’s next possession, and Roethlisberger and Brown hooked up on a 12-yard touchdown pass that put Pittsburgh ahead 27-24 with 9:01 remaining.
Brown had nine catches for 91 yards.
From there, the Titans got a heavy dose of Bell, as the Steelers were able to grind out the final seven minutes.
“I went into the huddle and told the guys that we could end this thing,” said Roethlisberger. “Let’s leave our defense on the side, and we did it.”
Gay’s interception return for a touchdown was his second of the season, making him the first Pittsburgh player to have two in one season since Chad Scott in 2001. … The Steelers improved to 19-2 against rookie quarterbacks since Dick LeBeau returned as the team’s defensive coordinator in 2004. … Bell became just the fourth Steelers running back to rush for 200 yards in a game, joining Willie Parker (twice), Frenchy Fuqua and John Henry Johnson. … The Steelers are 3-8 against the Titans in Tennessee.