Opening night of the 2009 Regular Season was one of the best games we’ll probably see this year. Unfortunately for the Tennessee Titans things just were not going there way this night.

To start Rob Bironas uncharacteristically missed two field goals in the first half that would have had the Titans up 6-0. This actually led to the Pittsburgh Steelers scoring first.

Quickly the Titans answered with a throw from Kerry Collins to Kenny Britt, and then to Justin Gage to get into the endzone. In the second half the Titans and Steelers each hit a field goal to leave the game at 10-10.

Ben Roethlisberger started out slow, but ended up with 363 passing yards on the night. The Steelers had it won in the 4th quarter until Michael Griffin forced a fumble from Hinez Ward with a minute to go inside the 10 yard line.

So along came overtime and the Titans called tails on the coin toss. Needless to say the coin ended up heads and the Steelers got the ball. The Titans didn’t even get a chance and the Steelers walk away from this game with a win 13-10.

So both teams played very well this game and proved that these could be the top two seeds in the AFC come January.

Biggest Stories
Troy Polamalu
Polamalu led the team in tackles despite not being in the game after the first half. He was injured on the blocked field goal and didn’t return. If he is out for a while this could be a big hit to the Steelers defense.

Pittsburgh’s Running Game
Good news and bad news for the Steelers were they were unable to run the ball. However not being able to run the ball and winning the game is a big confidence boost.

Rookie Receivers
Both Kenny Britt and Mike Wallace made some huge plays in this game. It is positive for both teams to see their draft picks making an impact.

Outlook for the Titans
So the Titans lose this game, but they have 10 days to rest until their next game. Fortunately this should allow them to be ready for the Houston Texans at home, which will be an even more important game than this opener.

To lose a opener at the champion Pittsburgh Steelers, while at Heinz field is not a bad sign. Its actually a very good sign that they hung in a game with a team that good while missing two field goals.

I’m not a huge fan of the overtime rules for the NFL, but they are the rules and the Titans have to live with it. They need to get back to practice and keep their spirits high. They are looking like a strong team this year and hopefully next week can turn out better.

Strengths of the Game
Some of the positives of the game were the Titans passing game and running game were both on tonight against a very good defense. The Titans run defense was also fantastic. Even the passing game looked really good until the fourth quarter, but against the passing offense this team has its understandable.

Weaknesses of the Game
The Titans’ 4th quarter play was terrible in this game. It is the only thing besides Rob Bironas’ missed field goals that worries me about this team. If it wasn’t for a clutch play by Michael Griffin the Steelers would have won it in regulation.

Check back tomorrow for some more information about this game.

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2 Comments »

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Granted it’s only one game, the Titans look just as good as they were last year, even without Haynesworth. That defense is going to win them a lot of games, and I thought Gage and Britt looked like they may have big years ahead of them.


Titans had so many opportunities to close this game out. But they’ll definitely a good team this year. Hopefully no serious injury with all the big hits their players took.



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