STEELERS GAMEDAY INFO
Week 9, Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) vs. Tennessee Titans (3-4)
Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, 8:15 p.m.
Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh (68,400, grass)
Broadcast
TV: Amazon Prime Video, WPXI locally, (Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, Kaylee Hartung)
Radio: Steelers Radio Network, 102.5 WDVE-FM (Bill Hillgrove, Craig Wolfley, Max Starks); Westwood One (Kevin Kugler, Ross Tucker)
SN Coverage: Alan Saunders, Nick Farabaugh, Ed Thompson
WPXI Weather: Partly cloudy, 42 degrees. Winds S 5 mph.
Lines: Steelers -2.5, Steelers -150, over/under 36.5
Betway sportsbook promo: First-bet reset up to $250 back in bonus bets if your first bet loses.
AT STAKE
The Steelers need a win to keep pace in what appears to be shaping up to be a brutal AFC Wild Card picture. The Steelers are currently in second place in the AFC North and are the No. 6 seed overall in the AFC, but as the season reaches its midpoint, 11 AFC teams are within one game of .500.
STEELERS INJURY REPORT
Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett will return to action after a rib injury caused him to miss the second half last week, and defensive tackle Cam Heyward will return from a seven-week absence after core muscle surgery.
Cornerback Levi Wallace is questionable with a foot injury for the second straight week. He did not play against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8. Running back Anthony McFarland is healthy but has not yet been activated from the injured reserve list.
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and tight end Pat Freiermuth are both out.
| Player | Injury | Date | Prognosis | Roster Status |
| QB Kenny Pickett | Ribs | Oct. 29 | Unknown | FP on Wed., Active |
| FS Minkah Fitzpatrick | Right hamstring | Oct. 29 | Out this week | DNP on Wed., OUT vs. TEN |
| S Damontae Kazee | Hand | Oct. 29 | Unknown | FP on Wed., Active |
| CB Levi Wallace | Foot | Oct. 25 | Unknown | LP on Wed., QUES. vs. TEN |
| RB Anthony McFarland | Knee | Sept. 13 | Day-to-day | IR-R, (Nov. 6), FP on Wed. |
| DT Cam Heyward | Core muscle surgery | Sept. 10 | Multiple weeks | FP on Wed., Active |
| LB Chapelle Russell II | Knee | Aug. 11 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
| CB Cory Trice | Right ACL tear | Aug. 1 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
| RB Alfonzo Graham | Torn right labrum | July 29 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
| DT Renell Wren | Torn right Achilles tendon | May 17 | Out for season | Injured reserve |
TRANSACTIONS
The Steelers released linebackers David Perales and Caleb Johnson from the practice squad and signed linebacker Mykal Walker and safety Jalen Elliott to the practice squad this week.
THE LAST TIME
Ben Roethlisberger ran in a one-yard touchdown and Chris Boswell kicked four field goals as the Steelers beat the Titans, 19-13 at Heinz Field on Dec, 19, 2021.
STEELERS-TITANS SERIES
The Steelers lead the overall series against the Titans/Oilers franchise, 48-43.
When the club left Houston in 1997, the teams were still AFC Central rivals, and Tennessee was not kind to the Steelers. The Oilers/Titans won seven of the next eight games against Pittsburgh after leaving Houston. More recently, the Steelers have dominated, with the Black and Gold winning four straight and seven of the last nine games.
The Steelers are 11-13 against the Oilers/Titans since moving to Tennessee and were 37-30 against the Oilers in Houston.
The team played two seasons as the Tennessee Oilers, one in Memphis in 1997 and one in Nashville in 1998 before their current stadium was built in 1999 and the team changed its name to the Titans.
PITTSBURGH CONNECTIONS
Head coach Mike Vrabel was a third-round draft pick of the Steelers out of Ohio State in 1997 and spent four years with the Steelers before joining the New England Patriots as a free agent in 2001.
Former Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds was recently traded to the Titans from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Kevin Byard and a swap of draft picks.
Former Steelers tight end and Pine-Richland grad Kevin Rader and former Steelers tackle Chris Hubbard both have backup roles on the Tennessee offense. Pitt defensive end Rashad Weaver is a rotational player for the Titans defense. Backup tight end Travon Wesco is a West Virginia alum.
Ex-Penn State quarterback Will Levis will be starting for the Titans.
TAKING ROOKIES TO SCHOOL
Levis will be making his second career start, a place that has not traditionally gone well for quarterbacks against the Steelers. Mike Tomlin is 23-5 against rookie quarterbacks in his career, with the second-highest winning percentage of any coach dating back to 1970.
Tomlin had won nine straight against rookie passers before losing to C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans in Week 4.