Maddox knocked out in loss to Titans
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – At the end of the third quarter of Pittsburgh’s 31-23 loss to the Tennessee Titans, the game became the last thing on the minds of 93 players and various coaches and trainers. “It puts things in perspective,” was how Steelers coach Bill Cowher described the eerie feeling of uneasiness that permeated the Coliseum.
Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox suffered a freak and scary injury on the last play of the third quarter. He lay motionless on the field, while medical people from both teams rushed to aid him in any way they could.
Maddox, without feeling in his extremities on the field, was taken from the field to Baptist Hospital by ambulance. There, he underwent various tests, including a CT scan and a magnetic resonance imaging.
According to Steelers trainer John Norwig, who addressed the team on the charter flight home, Maddox had suffered a concussion. Norwig added that Maddox was moving his upper extremities and that he had “some movement” in his lower extremities.
“He is undergoing an MRI right now,” Norwig said. “His X-rays were normal. This is very encouraging news and we hope to have more good news soon.”
After the team’s flight landed, Steelers spokesman Ron Wahl said Maddox was hospitalized for observation with a spinal contusion and a concussion. All tests, including a CT scan and an MRI, were negative. Wahl added that Maddox has movement in ann four extremities and was talking to his family last night.
The team, of course, had to play the fourth quarter. And while the results seem trivial, the game was finished. Kordell Stewart led the Steelers on two touchdown drives and the team converted a pair of two-point conversions, but it wasn’t enough to overtake the Titans. The Steelers fell to 5-4-1, while Tennessee improved to 6-4.
“That’s a part of the game,” Cowher said of Maddox’s injury. “Every time you step on the field, there is a possibility something like that can happen to you. We’re praying for him, hoping for the best for Tommy and his family.”
“We had to play the game,” linebacker Joey Porter said. “I’m just hoping now that he’s OK.”
“It was tough, playing right after that happened,” said wide receiver Hines Ward, who scored the first and last points of the game for Pittsburgh. “But I’m always going to fight to the end. It’s really sad when a guy goes down, especially a guy like Tommy who was having a terrific year.”
“We all know that anytime we step on that field something like this can happen to any one of us,” safety Lee Flowers said. “But for a guy like him, who busted his butt for 10 years just for the chance to play this game, that makes it really tough to take.”
But … the game had to be played.
The Steelers wasted no time getting their offense in gear. On the first play from scrimmage, Maddox connected with Ward on a 72-yard touchdown pass to give Pittsburgh a 7-0 lead. Ward beat Titans cornerback Andre Dyson on a double move and streaked untouched into the end zone.
“He likes to sit back and bite on things,” Ward said of Dyson. “It was easy for me. We came out and scored on the first play. We thought it was going to be a good day for us, but it didn’t work out that way.”
Tennessee also scored quickly, but under very different circumstances. A Maddox pass intended for Plaxico Burress was intercepted by Peter Sirmon, who returned it 25 yards to the Steelers 1-yard line. From there, Steve McNair passed to Kevin Dyson to tie the score at 7-7 with 12:12 still to play in the first quarter.
Steelers kicker Todd Peterson badly missed a 31-yard field goal attempt on the Steelers next possession. The miss was his eighth in 20 attempts this season. He missed another later and may be replaced by next Sunday, when the Steelers host Cincinnati.
Eddie George gave the Titans a 14-7 lead with a 4-yard touchdown run 2:55 before halftime. His TD run capped a 12-play, 92-yard drive and came on third-and-goal. It was Tennessee’s sixth third-down conversion in its first eight attempts.
Peterson had a chance to vindicate himself with a 37-yard attempt at the end of the first half, but missed again, wide right, leaving Tennessee’s halftime lead at seven, 14-7. The miss left Peterson six of 10 from 30 to 39 yards away for the season.
The Titans opened the third quarter much like they ended the second, converting third-and-longs into first downs. McNair passed to Derrick Mason for 10 yards on third-and-9 and to Kevin Dyson for 7 on third-and-7. Ironically, the Steelers stopped McNair on a third-and-1 quarterback sneak and Joe Nedney’s 38-yard field goal attempt was wide right, leaving the score at 14-7.
Still, the season-long problem with third down conversions was as apparent as the Steelers need for a better kicker.
“If you can’t get off the field on third down, you’re going to get killed,” Flowers said. “This is really frustrating for us because it’s the same guys we had in there last year. We know this has been a problem, but we haven’t been able to change it.”
“We missed some tackles today,” linebacker Joey Porter said. “I know I missed a couple of them myself. We were getting them in third-and-10s, which is what we want. I usually make the tackles on those plays, but today, I didn’t.”
Porter also was called for holding on what would have been a successful third down defensive play. That kept alive a Tennessee drive.
Maddox’s third interception came off Burress’ hands into those of cornerback Donald Mitchell and Tennessee’s offense went back to work at the Pittsburgh 42-yard line. A first down later, Tennessee faced third-and-8 at the Steelers’ 21-yard line, from where McNair did it again with an 11-yard pass to Drew Bennett to a first-and-goal at the 10.
From there, on second down, McNair passed to Dyson for a touchdown that boosted Tennessee’s lead to 21-7 with 3:48 remaining in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s defense continued to pummel the Steelers ground game and, eventually, Maddox. After Amos Zereoue was stopped for a 1-yard loss on second-and-5, Maddox was sacked to force a punt. And after three short plays, the Steelers’ defense was back on the field.
It didn’t take long for the Titans to capitalize. A 55-yard completion to Justin McCareins over Chad Scott led to George’s second TD of the game, a 5-yard run that made it 28-7 with less than a minute to go in the third quarter.
The Steelers’ offense took over with 21 seconds remaining in the third and managed only to run those seconds off the clock before punting to start the fourth.
Maddox went down like a shot on a third-and-10 completion to Antwaan Randle El on the last play of the third quarter. He was placed on a hard board, an indication of a neck or spinal injury, and taken off the field in an ambulance.
Maddox’s final statistics were 14 of 28 for 194 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. However, the concern was for his well being, not his statistics.
A somber mood permeated the fourth quarter and the Titans were able to capitalize on that, too. George started running with authority, running three straight times for 20 yards. George ran twice more for six yards before Robert Holcombe busted a 7-yard gain for a first down.
George returned and was stopped twice for no gain. Even then, you could tell Pittsburgh’s defense didn’t have its heart in the game. He was stopped on third down and Nedney hit a 43-yard field goal to make it 31-7 with 8:06 remaining.
Stewart led the Steelers on a pair of touchdown drives, the first culminating with a 4-yard scoring pass to Terance Mathis, the second ending on a pass to Ward. The Steelers converted a pair of two-point conversions (one from Stewart to fullback Dan Krieder, the other from Antwaan Randle El to Ward) to get within eight points, the Titans recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.
Then, all attention was placed back where it belonged, on Maddox.
“It’s tough when you know him personally,” running back Jerome Bettis said.
“There’s not a nicer guy on this team and all you can do is hope for the best for him. We won’t put this behind us until we see him, see him back in the locker room, see him smiling at you.”