Bell lifts Steelers to win over Titans

Le’Veon Bell rushed for a career-high 204 yards and a touchdown and visiting Pittsburgh erased an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Tennessee, 27-24.

Ben Roethlisberger finished 21-of-32 for 207 yards with one touchdown and one interception and Antonio Brown had nine catches for 91 yards and a score to lift the Steelers (7-4) to their fourth win in five games. William Gay returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown for Pittsburgh, which squandered an early 10-point lead before rallying with consecutive eight-play touchdown drives.

Rookie Zach Mettenberger threw for 263 yards with a pair of touchdowns and one pick for Tennessee (2-8), which absorbed its fourth straight defeat and eighth in nine games. Ex-Steeler Nate Washington had an 80-yard touchdown reception and tight end Chase Coffman had three catches for 32 yards and a score.

The Steelers were driving and poised to extend a 13-10 lead when Roethlisberger was intercepted by Jason McCourty in the end zone on a poor underthrow with 44 seconds left in the half. Rather than run out the clock, Mettenberger found Washington all alone down the left sideline for an 80-yard strike to send the Titans into the locker room with a stunning 17-13 edge.

Tennessee extended the lead when Mettenberger capped an 11-play, 77-yard drive with a 4-yard TD pass to Coffman in the back of the end zone, but the Steelers responded with back-to-back scoring drives - with Bell lunging in for a 5-yard score and Roethlisberger connecting with Brown on a 12-yard TD pass to move ahead 27-24 with nine minutes to play. Pittsburgh kept feeding Bell and ran off the final 6:58 while controlling the ball for nearly 40 minutes.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Brown, who set a career best with nine TDs, extended his own NFL record with his 27th game of at least five receptions and 50 yards and joined Hines Ward as the only player in team history with consecutive 80-catch seasons. … Mettenberger put up the most passing yards by a rookie QB on Monday Night Football and his 80-yard scoring pass was the longest for Tennessee since Oct. 2, 2011. … Gay’s pick-6 was the 100th interception return for a touchdown in franchise history.