Someone get LenDale a towel. I suppose he would want to cover his face beneath one during his way away from Pittsburgh.
During an evening where Troy Polamalu succumbed to a knee wound, Wille Parker and the rest of the Pittsburgh running back unit couldn't seem to get things going, and Hines Ward did one thing he hardly ever does - fumbled during a huge play scenario. Ben Roethlisberger stood steady in the backfield, took a few sacks, however ultimately engineered yet one more game winning drive to help the Steelers edge the Titans 13-10 in the football season opener.
It did not begin nicely for Big Ben and company; The Titans looked as good as ever and just about shut Pittsburgh's running game down.
Roethlisberger was cool under pressure, though. Sure, he threw 2 picks (Brett Favre does it all the time, and there are fans willing to kiss his feet when he comes into a room, so get off this).
However he also passed for 363 yards, which included 60 yards during his last series of the game.
Pittsburgh's defensive unit rose to the occasion and performed when the chips were down, particularly on special teams, where a blocked Rob Bironas field goal resulted in their only touchdown of the game.
Of course, that play lost them Troy Polamalu, although it only set them back for a moment or two.
If Hines Ward had either fallen down or shifted a little more quickly at the climax of his run in the 4th quarter, the game would have ended sooner.
But this was too great a game to not end up in overtime. Both franchises had fought hard, both franchises had athletes lost to injury, and an extra period seemed the only reasonable way to resolve the game.
If, that is, you could call pro football overtimes reasonable.
After the Steelers won the toss, Roethlisberger and crew made the most of a winded Tennessee defense, heading downfield for 63 yards to arrange the game-winning field goal. - 30224
During an evening where Troy Polamalu succumbed to a knee wound, Wille Parker and the rest of the Pittsburgh running back unit couldn't seem to get things going, and Hines Ward did one thing he hardly ever does - fumbled during a huge play scenario. Ben Roethlisberger stood steady in the backfield, took a few sacks, however ultimately engineered yet one more game winning drive to help the Steelers edge the Titans 13-10 in the football season opener.
It did not begin nicely for Big Ben and company; The Titans looked as good as ever and just about shut Pittsburgh's running game down.
Roethlisberger was cool under pressure, though. Sure, he threw 2 picks (Brett Favre does it all the time, and there are fans willing to kiss his feet when he comes into a room, so get off this).
However he also passed for 363 yards, which included 60 yards during his last series of the game.
Pittsburgh's defensive unit rose to the occasion and performed when the chips were down, particularly on special teams, where a blocked Rob Bironas field goal resulted in their only touchdown of the game.
Of course, that play lost them Troy Polamalu, although it only set them back for a moment or two.
If Hines Ward had either fallen down or shifted a little more quickly at the climax of his run in the 4th quarter, the game would have ended sooner.
But this was too great a game to not end up in overtime. Both franchises had fought hard, both franchises had athletes lost to injury, and an extra period seemed the only reasonable way to resolve the game.
If, that is, you could call pro football overtimes reasonable.
After the Steelers won the toss, Roethlisberger and crew made the most of a winded Tennessee defense, heading downfield for 63 yards to arrange the game-winning field goal. - 30224
About the Author:
For the best NFL forum online and a great football pick 'em on the web, visit RootZoo.
