This week the Tennessee Titans travel to Pittsburgh to face the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6-1), marking the 80th all-time meeting between the franchises. Kickoff at Heinz Field (capacity 68,400) is scheduled for 1 p.m. EST/noon CST on Sunday, Dec. 19.
With four games remaining in the regular season, the Titans are 9-4 and hold a two-game lead over the 7-6 Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South. They will win their second consecutive division title with any two combined Titans wins and/or Colts losses. The Colts host the New England Patriots this week in a Saturday night matchup.
A win this week over the Steelers, who won the AFC North a year ago, would give the Titans an 8-0 mark this season against teams that made the playoffs in 2020. They would join the 2007 New England Patriots (8-0) as the only teams since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to win eight games against the previous season's playoff qualifiers.
THE BROADCAST
Sunday's contest will be regionally televised on CBS, including Nashville affiliate WTVF NewsChannel 5. The broadcast team includes play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz, analyst Tony Romo and reporter Tracy Wolfson.
Fans can livestream the broadcast on their mobile devices from the Titans Mobile App (iOS and Android), as well as on desktop computers and mobile web at TennesseeTitans.com. Restrictions apply. For information and more streaming options visit TennesseeTitans.com or NFL.com/ways-to-watch.
The Titans Radio Network and Nashville flagship 104.5 The Zone will carry the game across the Mid-South with the "Voice of the Titans" Mike Keith, analyst Dave McGinnis, sideline reporter Amie Wells and gameday host Rhett Bryan.
TITANS GET BACK ON TRACK WITH SHUTOUT WIN
Following a Week 13 bye, the Titans hosted the Jacksonville Jaguars last week and ended a two-game skid with a 20-0 victory. The defense limited the Jaguars to 192 total yards, eight rushing yards and nine first downs. Four different members of the Titans defense registered an interception: linebackers Jayon Brown and Rashaan Evans and cornerbacks Kristian Fulton and Buster Skrine.
It was the 17th shutout victory by the Titans in franchise history and the first since Dec. 16, 2018, when they went on the road to defeat the Giants 17-0. They had not shut out an opponent at Nissan Stadium since Dec. 25, 2000 against the Dallas Cowboys (31-0).
The Titans' ninth victory guaranteed them a winning record for the sixth consecutive season—every year since Jon Robinson was hired as general manager in 2016. He is the only general manager in franchise history to oversee six total winning seasons, and he did so in his first six years on the job. Mike Vrabel, who came to the Titans in 2018, became the only head coach in franchise history other than Jack Pardee (1990–1993) to begin his tenure with at least four consecutive winning seasons.
Vrabel played four seasons in the Steel City after being selected in the third round (91st overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft. He totaled 51 games for the Steelers, recording 56 tackles, seven sacks, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
THE STEELERS
The Steelers will have three extra days of rest to prepare for the Titans after playing last Thursday at Minnesota. They fell behind to the Vikings 29-0 in the third quarter before storming back to make the score 36-28. A two-minute drive at the end of regulation nearly gave the Steelers the opportunity to force overtime, but time expired with the Steelers on the Vikings' 12-yard line.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is in his 15th season in Pittsburgh. He has led his club to seven AFC North titles and nine playoff berths, including two trips to the Super Bowl (XLIII and XLV).
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time Super Bowl winner, is in his 18th NFL season. In addition to holding virtually every major passing record in Steelers history, he has the eighth-most passing touchdowns in NFL history (415) and the sixth-most passing yards in NFL history (63,414).
The Steelers defense includes the NFL's sack leader, T.J. Watt. The outside linebacker has 16 sacks this season, tied with James Harrison (2008) for the franchise's single-season record.
