- Titans WR Treylon Burks was carted off the field after hitting his head on the turf
- Johnson had eight touchdowns in 2021-2022 before recording zero in 2022-2023
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson with 4:02 left in the game to narrowly beat the Tennessee Titans 20-16 on Thursday Night Football.
The catch not only gave Pittsburgh the lead and eventual victory, but it was also the first touchdown grab for Johnson since 2021, ending his 668-day barren run.
During the 2021-2022 season, Johnson recorded eight touchdowns, playing all 17 games without finding his way to the end zone in 2022-2023.
Pittsburgh (5-3) bounced back from a dismal loss to Jacksonville on Sunday by doing what they’ve done fairly regularly this season. Hanging around just long enough to get a win at the end of a game.
Four of the Steeler’s five wins have come in games where they trailed entering the fourth quarter.
Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson recorded his first touchdown catch since 2021
The catch also gave the Steelers the lead late and ultimately the victory over the Tennessee Titans
Pickett struggled at times with a rib injury but got it together late, completing 19 of 30 for 160 yards, including a 32-yard strike to Johnson down the right sideline on the go-ahead kick.
Running back Jaylen Warren had 112 yards of total offense, including a 22-yard run down the sideline that helped set up the winning score.
Tennessee rookie quarterback Will Levis played well in his second NFL start but couldn’t match the power of his first, a four-touchdown masterpiece against Atlanta.
Levis threw for 262 yards, but his 39th and final pass ended up being the first interception of his career when Steelers linebacker Kwon Alexander picked off a pass at the goal line with six seconds left to seal it.
Titans wide receiver Treylon Burks was carted off the field with just over two minutes left when he landed hard on the Acrisure Stadium grounds after unsuccessfully trying to corral a fourth-down heave from Levis.
The second-year pro lay on the Acrisure Stadium turf for several minutes as he was attended to by the medical staff of both teams. He was taken off the field but had movement in all four limbs. The Titans said Burks had full range of motion in all his extremities, the Amazon TV broadcast reported.
The Steelers moved embattled offensive coordinator Matt Canada from the coaching box to the sideline in hopes of helping provide a spark to a unit that entered the night near the bottom of the league in every meaningful statistical category.
The immediate returns were encouraging. Pickett directed a 78-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown run on Pittsburgh’s opening possession, the first time the Steelers reached the end zone on their first drive in a game Pickett started in more than a year.
Titans wide receiver Treylon Burks was also carted off the field with a head injury
Yet it was not sustainable. While there was some success here and there, Pickett struggled with his accuracy at times and the offense fell into the slog that has become his signature.
The Titans responded by taking a 13-10 lead after balanced play from Levis and Derrick Henry’s unique fury. Henry scored on a 2-yard plunge — with 305-pound defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons as lead blocker — and Levis later expertly executed the 2-minute strike to set up a 36-yard field goal by Folk to put Tennessee ahead at the break to get ahead.
The teams traded field goals in the third quarter – Pittsburgh’s after wide receiver George Pickens failed to get his left foot on the ground for what should have been a touchdown reception – with Folk’s third field goal putting the Titans up 16–13 on the way to the fourth.
Right where the Steelers wanted them.