Three biggest takeaways from Steelers win on 'TNF'

The Steelers found a way to win another ugly game on a short week, defeating the Titans 20-16 on "Thursday Night Football." Here are the three biggest takeaways from Pittsburgh's Week 9 win.

Kenny Comeback

QB Kenny Pickett did it again. For the majority of the game, he was up and down, making inaccurate throws and missing wide-open targets. But the second-year quarterback is a different player in the fourth quarter. Pickett now has six fourth-quarter comeback wins in his career, which is the second most in the NFL since 2022, per Pro Football Focus.

Head coach Mike Tomlin is not surprised, however, as he has seen it in Pickett from day one.

"Nothing that he does from an intangible perspective or a toughness perspective surprises me," Tomlin told reporters. "Can't say enough about him."

Johnson finally scores

WR Diontae Johnson finally got the monkey off his back and found the end zone for the first time since the 2021 season. It was great timing too as he scored the game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Johnson is relieved, to say the least, and is hoping he doesn't have to wait as long to find pay dirt next time.

"655 days since I scored. I'm happy I was there to get in the end zone today," Johnson said. "Looking forward to getting in the end zone next week."

The fifth-year wide receiver will likely have several opportunities once again in Week 10 as he has been a ball magnet since his return from injured reserve, catching 20 balls for 254 yards in three games.

Next men up

LB Cole Holcomb suffered what was described to be a "serious" knee injury according to Tomlin. The fifth-year linebacker has been a solid addition to the Steelers defense, but we've likely seen the last of him in 2023.

That means linebackers Elandon Roberts and Kwon Alexander will be the next men up who will see their playing time increased. They certainly rose to the challenge in Holcomb's absence, combining for 11 tackles, one tackle for a loss and the game-winning interception.

LB T.J. Watt is looking forward to watching them step up for the rest of the season.

"Next man up mentality. They're all alphas in the middle. They all want to be out there as much as possible," Watt stated. "Obviously we feel for Cole ... but when those guys stepped in, we didn't skip a beat."