There were several working narratives that had to be scrapped during the battle of the unbeatens as the 5-0 Steelers took on the 5-0 Titans at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
For two-plus quarters, it looked like Pittsburgh, who quickly increased a 24-7 halftime lead to 20 points on a Chris Boswell 30-yard field goal early in the third quarter, would walk away from the game the undisputed favorite to represent the AFC in the next Super Bowl.
The Steelers thoroughly dominated on both sides of the football up to that point, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger doing no wrong and Tennessee’s offense, led by running back Derrick Henry, doing nothing.