NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Titans bought themselves a little breathing room with a much-needed victory, and the Pittsburgh Steelers still can’t win away from Heinz Field.
Rob Bironas kicked his fourth field goal, a 40-yarder as time expired, as the Titans beat the Steelers, 26-23, on Thursday night to snap a two-game skid.
Matt Hasselbeck threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Britt with 4:19 left to tie it at 23, and the Titans (2-4) snapped a three-game losing streak against the Steelers.
Pittsburgh (2-3) lost its third straight road game this season and for the fifth time in six road games dating to last season despite Ben Roethlisberger throwing for 363 yards and becoming the Steelers’ career passing leader.
Roethlisberger drove the Steelers into position to take the lead after the Titans tied it. Shaun Suisham, who already had connected from 29, 28 and 52 yards, had his 54-yard attempt fall short of the crossbar with 49 seconds left.
Hasselbeck, the quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks from 2001-2010, drove Tennessee 33 yards, with the big play a 25-yard pass to tight end Jared Cook.
The Titans gave the ball to Chris Johnson to run down the clock, then sent out Bironas for the field goal.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin tried to ice Bironas with a timeout. Bironas waited it out, then kicked the ball through to give the Titans a rare chance to celebrate this season.
Johnson ran 19 times for 91 yards, and Hasselbeck finished with 290 yards passing.
The Steelers were up 20-16 when Lawrence Timmons picked off a Hasselbeck pass, but they had to settle for Suisham’s third field goal after moving the ball only 14 yards. That field goal put Pittsburgh up 23-16, and the NFL’s fourth-ranked defense couldn’t make that stand up.
Johnson, who has been criticized mercilessly for his struggles running the ball, kicked off Tennessee’s next drive with a 12-yard run. The Titans drove 80 yards before Hasselbeck found Britt to tie it.
Roethlisberger entered the game with 27,703 yards, 286 yards shy of Terry Bradshaw’s franchise record. Roethlisberger was 24 of 40 and passed Bradshaw with a 17-yard pass to Heath Miller late in the third quarter of his 119th game. Bradshaw played 168 games from 1970-83.
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