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What Went Right, What Went Wrong

What went right, wrong vs. Titans

COIN TOSS: Titans call tails. It's tails. Titans win the toss and elect to defer. The Steelers will get the football first.

1:06 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers received the opening kickoff, and after a 16-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Diontae Johnson on the opening play, the Steelers ran three more plays before being forced to punt when cornerback Greg Mabin raked the ball out of Chase Claypool's hands on a third-and-8. What compounded the issue is that Pressley Harvin's punt traveled just 27 yards to give the Titans the ball at their 30-yard line.

1:23 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Steelers went three-and-out on their second offensive series, and this time, Pressley Harvin got off a 50-yard punt, but Chester Rogers returned it 55 yards. And after James Pierre was flagged for an illegal block in the back, the Titans took over at the Steelers 25-yard line. The Titans capitalized on the field position with a six-play drive that ended up in the end zone following Ryan Tannehill's 1-yard quarterback sneak to give Tennessee a 7-0 lead with 7:41 remaining in the first quarter. The Steelers defense had a chance to escape when Devin Bush flashed in front of a pass intended for Geoff Swaim, but he was unable to hold onto the interception.

Game action photos from the Steelers' Week 15 game against the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field

1:37 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Titans took a 10-0 lead on a 26-yard field goal by Randy Bullock, and all of those points were set up by bad plays by the Steelers punt team. For the second time in the quarter, it was a bad punt by Pressley Harvin, this one a 32-yard kick that gave the Titans the ball at their 47-yard line. The Titans converted a third-and-1 with an 8-yard run by D'Onta Freeman, and another third-and-1 with a 2-yard run by Ryan Tannehill. There was 1:13 left in the first quarter.

1:51 p.m. – What Went Right: It was a third-and-5 from their 20-yard line for the Titans. Coming on a blitz, Joe Schobert drove a Tennessee offensive lineman back toward Ryan Tannehill, who completed a pass to MyCole Pruitt. Arthur Mallet forced a fumble that Minkah Fitzpatrick recovered at the Titans 36-yard line. After a reverse to Chase Claypool gained 12 yards, a false start by Chuks Okorafor put the Steelers behind the chains, and Chris Boswell ultimately came on to kick a 36-yard field goal to cut the Titans lead to 10-3 with 10:35 left in the second quarter.

2:17 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Titans extended their lead to 13-3 when Randy Bullock kicked a 32-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in the first half to cap a 19-play, 64-yard drive that consumed 10:17 of the game clock. The Titans converted three third downs , but then came a third-and-goal from the 4-yard line. With two Titans holding T.J. Watt around the waist, Cam Heyward broke through to sack Ryan Tannehill for a 10-yard loss that brought Bullock onto the field.

2:24 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers took the ensuing kickoff, and Ben Roethlisberger completed three straight passes – two for a combined 21 yards to Pat Freiermuth, and another for 19 yards down the sideline to James Washington for 19 yards to the Titans 38-yard line. Chris Boswell's 56-yard field goal was short as the half ended.

HALFTIME: Titans 13, Steelers 3

2:42 p.m. – What Went Right: The Titans received the second half kickoff and ran five plays before being forced to punt. The key defensive play was a tackle for a 4-yard loss by Terrell Edmunds on a screen pass to Dontrell Hilliard. After a 39-yard punt and an 11-yard return by Ray-Ray McCloud, the Steelers started at their 23-yard line.

2:50 p.m. – What Went Wrong: On their first possession of the second half, the Steelers went three-and-out, with a 9-yard sack by Bud Dupree on first down setting the tone for the rest of the series. Pressley Harvin's 50-yard punt, and then a 6-yard loss on the return had the Titans starting at their 20-yard line.

3:09 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers cut their deficit to 13-10 with 3:08 remaining in the third quarter thanks to an eight-play, 63-yard drive capped by a 1-yard sneak by Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger converted a third-and-1 with. 5-yard pass to Pat Freiermuth that became a 20-yard gain when Kristian Fulton was flagged for unnecessary roughness on a hit that sent Freiermuth to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion. A 17-yard catch-and-run by Zach Gentry was followed by a 7-yard run by Najee Harris. A pass interference penalty in the end zone on Fulton gave the Steelers the ball at the 1-yard line.

3:18 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers defense created a second takeaway when a third-and-6 pass from Ryan Tannehill to Racey McMath became a fumble forced by Cam Sutton and Joe Haden recovered at the Tennessee 41-yard line.

THIRD QUARTER: Titans 13, Steelers 10

3:29 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers tied the game, 13-13, thanks to a 28-yard field by Chris Boswell with 13:24 remaining in the fourth quarter. Ben Roethlisberger completed a 12-yard pass to James Washington, and the Steelers also gained 13 yards on a roughing the passer penalty on Jeffery Simmons.

3:40 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers defense came up with its third takeaway on a third-and-3 from the 42-yard line. Ryan Tannehill's pass was tipped into the air by Taco Charlton and intercepted by Joe Schobert, whose 24-yard return gave the Steelers the ball at the Titans 31-yard line. After a 7-yard pass to Diontae Johnson, the offense followed with a 2-yard loss on a run by Najee Harris, and then a 1-yard sack by Denico Autry. Chris Boswell's 46-yard field goal gave the Steelers a 16-13 lead with 7:20 remaining in the fourth quarter.

3:48 p.m. – What Went Right: Another takeaway, and again the Steelers had to settle for a field goal. This one came when Ryan Tannehill fumbled a snap, and T.J. Watt came out of the pile with the ball at the Tennessee 35-yard line. But again, the Steelers offense couldn't move the ball. A 6-yard run by Najee Harris was followed by a 5-yard loss by Harris. What followed was an underneath pass to Diontae Johnson on third-and-9 that gained 4 yards. Chris Boswell's 48-yard field goal gave the Steelers a 16-13 led with 4:29 remaining in the fourth quarter.

4:10 p.m. – What Went Right: It came down to this: a fourth-and-6 from the Steelers 16-yard line. Stop them, and the game is over, a 19-13 win for the Steelers and life in the playoff chase. Ryan Tannehill's pass over the middle was to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and as he approached the line to gain, Joe Haden stepped up and stoned him in his tracks short of the first down. The Steelers took over on downs, Ben Roethlisberger took a knee, and the game was over.

FINAL SCORE: Steelers 19, Titans 13

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