Titans-Steelers Game Notes

HEY PITTSBURGH!

Everybody was watching and we just beat you up. Try to play us again and we’ll steal your girlfriend…

If the Tennessee Titans are going to the Super Bowl, they’ll be doing it on their own terms. The road to the Tampa is gonna go through Tennessee, as the Titans clinched home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers today. And in fine fashion too, with a 31-14 stomping of the “the very not fake Steelers,” the second best team in the AFC.  We’re the best team in the AFC. We da’ best.

• After Tennessee went up 10-0, the Steelers fought their way back into the game, eventually taking a 14-10 lead in the 3rd quarter. Terrible town towels were waving in seemingly every corner of LP Field. We were nervous. The tiniest sliver of doubt crept in.  After all, it is a bit unsettling to hear a cheer from the opposing teams’ fans, nearly as loud as our own. Are the Steelers gonna find another way to pull out a crummy win against a far better football team?
• Nope. All went according to plan and the Steelers played right into our hand, as the Titans went on to score 21 unanswered points over the next 20 minutes. “How?” you ask. Well, funny you should ask that. Two on the ground (a fourth-and-one toss to “Twitch” for a 21-yard TD and a one-yard scamper for LenDale “It’s My Birthday Weekend” White) and a pick six (which I called, thank you).
• Christmas came early, with Tennessee winning the turnover battle 4-0, resulting in 21 points (off of turnovers) for the good guys. Ben Roethlisberger also fumbled the ball an additional two times, with the Steelers recovering, good for a total of four. Michael Griffin had both of Tennessee’s interceptions, returning one for a touchdown, and upping his total on the season to seven (tying him with Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu for first in the league).
• Pittsburgh’s recent string of late garbage wins ended today (they had been tied or trailing at halftime in their last three wins). Sorry guys, neither Tony Romo or a confused crew of refs were in the building to help you out.
• At the start of the season, if you had told me rookie Jason Jones would finish the season with 3 forced fumbles, I would have said, “That’s a nice little season for our 2nd round draft pick.” If you told me he would do that in one game- the biggest game of the year- I would have said, “ I just ****** in my pants.” Apparently rookie pranks are still occurring over at Metro Center, so Jones was forced to practice in Albert Haynesworth‘s 92 this week. Something must have rubbed off, because he played like the big man today.
• The Titans lead the league in point differential (10.9), which means that they are not just beating their opponents, they are blowing them out. Blowing them out.
• I’m so glad that this guy was there to witness the win. I looked at Elisha at one point in the game after they showed him on the Jumbotron and said, “Do you know how cool it would be to be a 12-year old and get to your seat, only to find that you were sitting next to the Snoop D-O double G.” Then I quickly realized that it would have been wwwaaayyy cooler for a 26-year old (let’s say, any of us) to walk down to said seat, and find a very bundled up Mr. Broadus parked right next to you. After all, we were the 12-year olds who got their copy of “Doggystyle” from the Columbia House Record Club. Punk kid…(if you sell a couple of extra copies tomorrow, Calvin, you know who to thank)

That was the signature win that this team needed to shut people up. Shut up haters.

Happy Holidays everyone. Remember to spend it with those you love.