Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Pittsburgh 23 at Tennessee 31 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Pittsburgh Steelers: Pittsburgh scored on the first play from scrimmage but that would be all on offense for three more quarters. Pressure from the Titan front four disrupted Tommy Maddox's rhythm. Maddox was knocked out on the last play of the third quarter by a clean hit from Titan linebacker Keith Bulluck. Maddox regained consciousness on the field. Early reports indicated he suffered from a lack of sensation in his extremities before being taken to the hospital. Kordell Stewart was sharp on underneath routes in the no-huddle offense against a big Titan cushion late in the game. He moved the ball well, leading to two Steeler touchdowns and building his confidence. Amos Zereoue got the start but not see success against the tough Titan defense. Dropped a wide-open pass from Stewart over the middle. Jerome Bettis got a few touches in the first half and did not play after the Steelers fell behind. Plaxico Burress was blanketed by Samari Rolle all afternoon. Did not get his first catch until one minute left in the first half. Hines Ward had a big game and was the primary target. Tennessee Titans: Steve McNair picked the Steelers apart utilizing the spread offense against only occasional pressure. Eddie George was most effective on delays and draws from the spread formation against the Steeler blitzes. Kevin Dyson gained a ton of yards after catches. He gained 23-yards on a ten-yard slant, broke two tackles on a 20-yard gain and showed some keen moves on his nine-yard touchdown. Dyson was overthrown on a deep sideline route, was overthrown in the end zone, dropped a short crossing attempt and had a pass deflected away on a deep post. Defensive end Jevon Kearse is not expected back until next week. Even without him, the Tennessee front seven is very solid. The Titans were able to pressure Maddox even while rushing four or five, at the most. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Pittsburgh Steelers QB: Tommy Maddox - Pressure from the Titan front four disrupted Tommy Maddox's rhythm. The first of three interceptions was caused by a receiver running a wrong route. Both Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress were in the same area attracting more defensive traffic than Maddox anticipated. Maddox forced an interception into the end zone on a double pass for his second pick. He then threw behind Burress for the third. Maddox was knocked out on the last play of the third quarter by a clean hit from Titan linebacker Keith Bulluck. Maddox regained consciousness on the field. Reports indicated he suffered from a lack of sensation in his extremities before being taken to the hospital. X-rays were negative and they're calling it a concussion / spinal contusion which is very good news considering what it looked like initially. More details later. Kordell Stewart - Stewart was sharp on underneath routes in the no-huddle offense against a big Titan cushion late in the game. He moved the ball well, leading to two Steeler touchdowns and building his confidence. RB: Amos Zereoue - Got the start but not see success against the tough Titan defense. Dropped a wide-open pass from Stewart over the middle. Jerome Bettis - Got a few touches in the first half and did not play after the Steelers fell behind. WR: Plaxico Burress - Was blanketed by Samari Rolle all afternoon. Did not get his first catch until one minute left in the first half. After drawing an early pass interference call on Rolle, Rolle covered Burress on an overthrown fade in the end zone, deflected away a medium hitch and caused Burress to break off a post route with a tug on Burress' jersey. Burress also dove but could not come up with deep crossing attempt and lost a bobbling catch after a hit by the safety. Hines Ward - Had a big game and was the primary target. He was missed on a pass to the flat from Maddox and was the end-target on the double pass. Ward was overthrown by Maddox on two deep routes. He took a big hit to the upper back late in the game that he will feel Monday morning. Antwaan Randle El - Did not get many looks until Stewart entered the game. Maddox missed him on a screen due to Randle El jumping around in the backfield. It is hard to hit a moving target like that. Terance Mathis - Hung on to a catch after a tough hit. A low throw went incomplete to Mathis in the end zone before Stewart hit him on the next play for a touchdown. TE: Mark Bruener - Was missed on a pressured rollout into good coverage. Has good hands but lacks the mobility to get open or gain yardage. Steelers Pass Defense: The Steelers once again showed their vulnerability to the spread offense. Pittsburgh relied on the blitz to get pressure on McNair, that left Mason and Dyson open over the middle. Joey Porter's penalty on a receiver hold cost Jason Gildon a sack. Steelers Rush Defense: Contained George for the most part. Wore down in the fourth quarter from being on the field the majority of the game. Steelers Special Teams: Kicker Todd Peterson was wide right on 31- and 37-yard attempts. He still has problems kicking the ball off to inside the ten. The Steelers lined up in an interesting swinging-gate punt formation that forced Tennessee to call a timeout in the first half. Pittsburgh subsequently punted the ball away. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Tennessee Titans QB: Steve McNair - Picked the Steelers apart utilizing the spread offense against only occasional pressure. The Titans converted 12 of 19 third downs to prolong drives and keep the Steeler defense on the field, eventually wearing them out. McNair played through his turf toe problems. RB: Eddie George - Was most effective on delays and draws from the spread formation against the Steeler blitzes. A holding penalty negated a 15-yard catch. George was split out on several occasions. WR: Kevin Dyson - gained a ton of yards after catches. He gained 23-yards on a ten-yard slant, broke two tackles on a 20-yard gain and showed some nice moves on his nine-yard touchdown. Dyson was overthrown on a deep sideline route, was overthrown in the end zone, dropped a short crossing attempt and had a pass deflected away on a deep post. Derrick Mason - Was McNair's secondary target. Mason scooped an under thrown ball for a first down and had a pass deflected away in the end zone. McNair was hit on a couple other errant attempts to Mason. Justin McCareins - Had a drop before McNair laid the go-route toss to him for 55 yards. Returned a kickoff 48 yards after slipping on the chewed up turf. TE: Frank Wychek - Out with a concussion. McNair was 1 for 5 going to Wychek's replacements Shad Meier and Erron Kinney. Most of those incompletions were due to Meier and Kinney not positioning themselves well in front of defenders. Titans Pass Defense: Defensive end Jevon Kearse is not expected back until next week. Even without him, the Tennessee front seven is very solid. The Titans were able to pressure Maddox even while rushing four or five defenders, at the most. Titans Rush Defense: Again, the front seven shut down the Steelers early, taking them out of their running game. Titans Special Teams: Kicker Joe Nedney was wide right on a 39-yard attempt. He later nailed a 43-yarder.