Terrible Towel Rematch Ends in Overtime 13-10
Steelers Beat Titans in NFL Season Opener 2009
Sep 11, 2009 Derek J Griebenow
The game lived up to the Terrible Towel Rematch hype as both defenses brought their 'A' game. The first quarter was a battle of field position and Roethlisberger getting sacked.
Twice on third and short the Titans were able to put Big Ben on his back. The Steelers would have a tough time on third down all day going 2-for-5 on third and less than three yards. It wouldn't matter in the end but made for some exciting football.
It appeared that with eight minutes left in the first quarter that the Titans were on their way to score. Running back Chris Johnson ran a cutback 32 yards followed by a 15 yard personal foul on Troy Polamalu.
Titans tight end Alge Crumpler ended up dropping a pass that would have given Tennessee a first down inside the Steelers ten yard line. Usually very accurate kicker, Rob Bironas came in and shanked an easy 37 yard field goal.
Tennessee came back later in the quarter to try to score again. This time though, safety Troy Polamalu intercepted a Kerry Collins pass one handed ahead of the goal line.
Pittsburgh was held to just 2 yards of total offense in the first quarter while the Titans had 93. Things would change as the game wore on though.
Titans rookie receiver, Kenny Britt (1st ever 1st round pick from Rutgers), caught his first NFL pass for 15 yards. The catch would set-up a 31 yard field goal attempt by Bironas after another personal foul on Polamalu.
With 2:14 left in the first half James Farrior blocked the field goal and Polamalu recovered. Unfortunately he was injured on the play as Crumpler fell on his knee. Polamalu did not return.
The Steelers ran the 2-minute-drill to perfection before the half as Big Ben lead them to a touchdown in 5 plays for 79 yards. It was the pump-fake by Ben on two consecutive passes over the middle that had safety Chris Hope biting early. First was a 29 yard pass to Hines Ward, then a 34 yard TD to Super Bowl 43 MVP Santonio Holmes. Holmes finished the game with 9 receptions, 131 yards, and the TD(he had the exact numbers in the Super Bowl). Holmes scored the last points of the 2008 season and the first of this season.
Titans quarterback Kerry Collins had his own pump-fake to show the Steelers. On 2nd and 10 on their own 29 yard line, Collins pumped-faked safety Ryan Clark out of his shoes for a 54 yard strike to Britt. Collins then found Justin Gage for a 14 yard TD. The Titans had went 71 yards in about 30 seconds for a 7-7 halftime score.
The second half started with Tennessee having possession only to see their tight end Bo Scaife fumble and possibly injure his knee as well. It wasn't until about 2 minutes left in the game that an offense started to move again.
The Titans were forced to punt at the 2 minute warning and it was a short kick. The Steelers started at their own 42 and seemed ready to win. And then it happened. Hines Ward caught a pass and was trying to score the game-winning TD instead of downing the ball and letting the kicker handle it.
Titans safety Michael Griffin came behind Ward and popped the ball loose from his grip at the 4 yard line. On to overtime!
The Titans called tails on the coin toss to decide possession but it was tails. Ben Roethlisberger guided his team down the field pretty easily. After a 22 yard pass to rookie receiver Mike Wallace, kicker Jeff Reed came in to seal the deal with a 33 yard game winner.
This may actually end up a battle that is seen later on during the playoffs possibly. The Titans showed tonight that they don't miss Albert Hayneswoth. Or is it just to early to tell?
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