LOS ANGELES, Nov 3, 2023 (AFP) – Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett found Diontae Johnson with a three-yard touchdown pass with 4:02 remaining Thursday to give the Steelers a 20-16 NFL victory over the Tennessee Titans.
Johnson’s first TD catch since the 2021 season capped a 92-yard drive kept going by two third-down conversions and gave the Steelers the lead for good in a back-and-forth battle in Pittsburgh.
“It was 655 days since I’d scored,” Johnson said. “I’m looking forward to getting into the end zone next week.”
Pickett said it was “amazing” to see Johnson end his drought.
“To see that smile on his face after that was great,” Pickett said. “I’m sure it felt like the world was off his back now.”
Tennessee had a chance to answer — helped by a Pittsburgh defensive penalty on fourth down that extended their final drive. But with 11 seconds left rookie quarterback Will Levis’s pass to the end zone was intercepted.
Levis, making his second start, connected on 22 of 39 passes for 262 yards and one touchdown.
Pickett, nursing a rib injury, shook off an erratic start to finish with 160 passing yards, connecting on 19 of 30 attempts.
That included a 32-yard pass to Johnson on the drive that put the Steelers up for good.
That drive also featured a 22-yard run from running back Jaylen Ward, who had 112 yards of total offense.
For the first time this season, Pittsburgh scored a touchdown on their opening drive.
“It was big,” Pickett said of finding the end zone on their first opportunity. “We did what we were searching to do all year.”
But Pickett’s struggles saw the Titans take a 13-10 halftime lead on two field goals by Nick Folk and a two-yard touchdown by running back Derrick Henry.
Both teams scored field goals in the third quarter, Folk’s third of the night putting Tennessee up 16-13 going into the final period.
“We all have faith in each other,” Pickett — who has six fourth-quarter comeback wins in his career — said of the Steelers’ ability to come back late.
“We’ve got trust and we all care for one another. There’s no one in there that has any doubt when it comes down to those fourth quarters that we’re going to be able to put a drive together and go down there and score.
“Right now we’re just searching for that consistency all game,” added Pickett after the Steelers improved to 5-3, second in the AFC North division behind the Baltimore Ravens.
“We’ve just got to continue to work on that.”