Roethlisberger leads Steelers to OT victory over Titans

It was a classic battle between long standing divisional rivals. The Tennesse Titans, formerly the Houston Oilers, faced off against the defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Dating back to the late 70's, there has never been any love lost between these 2 teams. The Earl Campbell led Oilers had numerous classic battles against the vaunted "Steel Curtain" of the Pittsburgh Steelers, including a 1980 Conference Final which the eventual Super Bowl winning Steelers won 27-14.
The 2009 inaugural NFL match up began as a defensive struggle. Both sides made big plays, none more spectacular than the one made by Steelers bruising safety Troy Polamalu. With the Titans pinned near their own end zone, Titans running back Chris Johnson received a hand off to the left of Titans QB Kerry Collins. As the speedy Johnson attempted to turn and gain some yardage, Polamalu appeared out of nowhere like a heat-seeking missile, taking the legs out from Johnson. It was spectacular and violent, and the Steelers crowd loved it. Polamalu would later make a one-handed interception before leaving the game with a knee injury.
Kerry Collins was efficient in the first half, moving his team down the field for 2 field goal opportunities. The Titans failed to capitalize, as Rod Bironas missed one FG wide, and had another blocked. Both teams traded touchdowns in the final 90 seconds in the first half, including Ben Roethlisberger hitting Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes for a 34 yard TD. Kerry Collins connected with Justin Gage with 48 seconds remaining in the first half on what would be the last TD of the game.
The second half was as brutal as the first. Both teams failed to establish any running game, and it became obvious it was to be a duel between Collins and Roethlisberger. Although the Titans sacked Big Ben four times, including a crunching hit by Javon Kearse which left Roethlisberger visibly shaken, the big man stood his ground and eventually took over the game. The offensive line settled down and he had lots of time to throw, however the Titans inexplicably stopped blitzing by the fourth quarter. By the end of the game, he had accumulated 363 yards on 33 of 43 passing. His passes were sharp and crisp, giving receivers Hines Ward and Holmes over 100 yards receiving. As the game went in to OT and the Steelers won the coin toss, the outcome was inevitable. Roethlisberger quickly drove his team down the field and set up Kicker Jeff Reed for a wining 33 yard field goal, giving the Steelers a 13-10 victory.
It was a hard fought and possibly costly victory for the Steelers. Safety Troy Polamalu will reportedly miss the next 3-6 weeks with his knee injury, although he will be re-evaluated shortly. Polamalu led his team in tackles despite playing only in the first half. For the Oilers, the 2 missed field goals were costly. They must re-group and continue to play solid football. They do not have any real weapon at Wide Receiver, although Roookie Kenny Britt looked impressive in his first NFL game. The Steelers must address their running game which yielded only 36 yards, but with Roethlisberger constantly improving, and with their bone crunching defense in place, they will most certainly be a threat to repeat as Super Bowl Champs again.