Le'Veon Bell (26) had a career night in Nashville. (Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In danger of losing another game against one of the NFL’s worst teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers turned to Le’Veon Bell.
The running back pounded out 204 yards on 33 carries, including a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter that started a comeback and led the Steelers to a 27-24 win over the Tennessee Titans on Monday night at LP Field.
Bell’s 5-yard scoring run, on which he reached the ball over the goal line’s plane, cut the Titans’ lead to 24-20. After forcing a three-and-out, Pittsburgh (7-4) took the lead with 9:01 left on a 12-yard scoring strike from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Bell helped melt the clock down the stretch, rushing for three first downs as the Steelers kept the ball for the last 6:58.
Roethlisberger completed 21 of 32 passes for 207 yards despite being sacked five times. He threw one touchdown pass and was intercepted once.
Titans rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger hit on 15 of 24 attempts for 263 yards and two scores, including a 4-yard touchdown to tight end Chase Coffman with 3:42 left in the third quarter that gave Tennessee a 24-13 advantage.
However, the Titans (2-8) couldn’t hang on, missing on a prime-time chance to hand Pittsburgh another bad loss. The Steelers fell earlier this year to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets, teams that are currently 2-8.
After Steelers placekicker Shaun Suisham converted a 49-yard field goal at the 10:45 mark of the first quarter, Pittsburgh was back on the scoreboard eight seconds later.
Mettenberger’s first pass went behind stumbling wide receiver Justin Hunter and right to a streaking William Gay. The Steelers cornerback returned it 28 yards untouched for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead.
Mettenberger and the Titans rebounded, going 67 yards in five plays for a touchdown. Running back Bishop Sankey capped the drive with a 9-yard scoring run with 8:08 left in the opening quarter.
Suisham tacked on a 23-yard field goal with 1:03 remaining in the first quarter, but Tennessee replied with a 20-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Succop early in the second quarter.
After cornerback Jason McCourty cut off a Pittsburgh drive by intercepting a Roethlisberger pass in the end zone with 44 seconds left, the Titans capitalized with a stunning score.
Mettenberger found wide receiver Nate Washington 10 yards behind Gay on a go route, and Washington hauled it in for an 80-yard touchdown with 32 seconds remaining, giving Tennessee a 17-13 halftime lead.
NOTES: Tennessee TE Delanie Walker (concussion) was declared inactive after being knocked out of a Nov. 9 loss at Baltimore. … Pittsburgh SS Troy Polamalu (knee) missed his second consecutive game, but the team hopes that he will return after the bye for the Nov. 30 home game against the New Orleans Saints. … Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak made his return to Nashville, where he was the Titans’ head coach the last three years before being fired after a 7-9 season in 2013.
