Week nine of the National Football League season is upon us and the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in the middle of their three game home stand. Following last week’s loss, the margin of error is becoming smaller as the Tennessee Titans come to town.
What: Tennessee Titans 3-4 at Pittsburgh Steelers 4-3
Where: Acrisure Stadium Pittsburgh, PA
When: 815pmET Thursday November 2nd, 2023
Weather: 45 degrees with light winds.
Wagering Information: Steelers -2.5 O/U 36.5
Last Week: The Titans rode four touchdown passes from rookie Will Levis to a 28-23 win over Atlanta while the Steelers dropped a 20-10 decision at home to the Jaguars.
TV: Amazon TV Al Michaels (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analysis), Kaylee Hartung (field reporter)
Westwood One Radio: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Ross Tucker (analysis)
TV Coverage in Your Area: Coverage is based on whether you have Amazon Prime or not.
Radio: Steelers Nation Radio/WDVE Bill Hillgrove (play-by-play), Craig Wolfley (analysis), Missi Matthews (sideline),
Max Starks (sideline)
Head Official: John Hussey. He is in his 9th year as a head official. He’s a sales representative who graduated from Idaho State. The last time he worked a Steelers game was last season’s 38-3 drubbing at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. Hussey has been at the center of controversy several times in recent months including the NFC Title game and this season’s 49ers-Browns game.
Key Injuries/Game Status (courtesy steelers.com) PIT: No. 29 CB Levi Wallace (Foot) – Questionable
No. 39 CB Minkah Fitzpatrick (Hamstring) – Out TEN: No. 66 T Chris Hubbard (Concussion) – Out, No. 17 QB Ryan Tannehill (Ankle) – Out, No. 10 WR DeAndre Hopkins (Toe) – Questionable, No. 21 CB Roger McCreary (Hamstring) – Out
No. 44 S Mike Brown (Ankle) – Out
Injury Notes: You’ll notice Cam Heyward doesn’t appear here and that means he’ll play. Good news for the Steelers’ run defense.
2023 NFL Ranks:
Total Offense: PIT 31st TEN 24th Passing Offense: PIT 28th TEN 29th Rushing Offense: PIT 30th TEN 19th
Total Defense: PIT 13th TEN 11th Passing Defense: PIT 17th TEN 11th Rushing Defense: PIT 23rd TEN 11th
AFC North Rankings: Baltimore 6-2, Cleveland 4-3, Pittsburgh 4-3, Cincinnati 4-3
This Week in the AFC North: Arizona at Cleveland 1pmET, Seattle at Baltimore 1pmET, Buffalo at Cincinnati 820pmET
What You Need to Know: The Steelers have won four straight over the Titans… Titans HC Mike Vrabel is 0-2 against the Steelers, a team he once played for… Mike Tomlin is 7-3 all-time versus the Titans… Pittsburgh is 6-1 all-time in primetime games at home against the Titans… Since the 1970 merger, the Steelers have 136 wins in the month of November ranking them first in the NFL… Pittsburgh is 11-13 all-time on Thursday Night Football but is 8-2 at home… The Steelers are 9-14 on three days rest dating back to the 1970 merger.
Tennessee Titans Names to Know: QB Will Levis, QB Ryan Tannehill, RB Derrick Henry, WR DeAndre Hopkins, S Terrell Edmunds, LB Azeez Al-Shaair, TE Kevin Rader, RB Tyjae Spears, DT Jeffery Simmons
What’s at Stake: While the Titans appear to be in rebuild mode, last week’s debut for Levis may have them thinking otherwise now as they chase the Jaguars in the AFC South. Pittsburgh meanwhile has to keep pace in arguably the most competitive division in pro football.
All-Time Series: Steelers lead 48-32 and lead all-time in Pittsburgh 28-12
Last Meeting: In Pittsburgh 2021, Steelers 19 Titans 13
Postseason History: Steelers lead 3-1
Steelers Game Highs vs TEN: PASSING: 363 yards Ben Roethlisberger 09/10/2009 RUSHING: 204 yards Le’Veon Bell 11/17/2014 RECEIVING: 192 yards Jeff Graham 12/19/1993 SACKS: 3 Chad Brown 09/10/1995 INTERCEPTIONS: 2 (15 times)
Check out the latest Steel City Blitz Steelers Podcast for more on the Steelers.
Three Things We Need to See for a Steelers’ Victory:
1. One Leads to the Other. Football really isn’t a complicated game when you think about it and for the Steelers this week it starts with Derrick Henry and Will Levis. Rookie QBs don’t always do well against Pittsburgh but the one sure way you can make sure of that with Levis is to stop Henry. If Henry gets rolling downhill as we’ve seen far too many running backs do this season, then it sets up play-action. Even worse, is that it forces the Steelers’ pass rush to slow down even for a second and those seconds matter when rushing the QB. Tennessee will no doubt know the Steelers have struggled with the run and even a banged up Henry is going to still be effective if the Steelers let him. Getting to Levis regardless of Henry’s success will be huge especially because he wants to throw deep. This is football 101. Stop the run and attack the passer.
2. The Offense Can Help. So in regards to the point above, the offense can actually be a significant factor in seeing that goal be met. The Titans are a nice defensive unit led up front by Jeffery Simmons who will present serious challenges against both the run and pass. If and you bet this is a big “IF,” the Steelers can sustain some drives early and build even a slight lead then you put some pressure on the rookie quarterback to make the right calls, the right reads and the right throws.
3. Execution. No, I’m not in favor of anyone being executed but I am in favor of seeing this offense actually execute the gameplan. This past Sunday was a perfect example of how poor execution can bring more heat on an offensive coordinator. Kenny Pickett was the victim of some dropped balls but he also made some really poor throws to open receivers. Those were plays that were absolutely “there” and didn’t work only because the execution was poor. The same can be said for the offensive line who must communicate pre-snap and then execute afterwards. Even one guy missing his assignment can blow an entire play up with in pass protection or run blocking. Better execution this week will go a long ways towards a victory.
Prediction: There’s a huge part of me that thinks this is the beginning of a big slide for the Steelers’ 2023 season. With Minkah Fitzpatrick out, Kenny Pickett banged up and the offense literally going nowhere, something just doesn’t feel right with this team. With that in mind, Mike Tomlin finds ways to win these types of games. I really don’t know how he does it but for some crazy reason his teams come through in the clutch. I’m not exactly expecting fireworks in this game but somehow, some way I think Chris Boswell wills them to a victory.
Steelers 16 Titans 13
Season Prediction Record: 3-4
