Thursday night games have historically been rough on NFL teams' injury lists, though the Steelers made it through their 40-17 rout of the Titans at Heinz Field mostly unscathed.
That's mostly, not entirely.
Anthony Chickillo hurt his left ankle in the second half and didn't return. What's more, DKPittsburghSports.com learned afterward, he was having the ankle examined for possible ligament damage. He wasn't available for interviews in the locker room.
Mike Tomlin acknowledged the ankle injury but had no further detail. The team will take the next three days off, with no media availability until Monday, so no additional word is expected beforehand.
The only other apparent and/or announced injury came when Cam Heyward stayed on the ground in the fourth quarter with a left leg issue, but he soon walked off under his own power, then returned for the next series. He said afterward he was fine.
A NATION WATCHES
The Steelers are hardly a stranger to prime-time football. This represented the first of four consecutive night games, and they've long been a network TV attraction before this.
Still, it was striking to hear so many on the home side, from the locker room to Tomlin in his press conference, cite that as inspiration for maybe their most complete performance of an 8-2 start.
"They have respect for the opportunity," Tomlin said of his players. "It's an honor to play on prime-time television. It's an honor to play in front of our football fans internationally, and I think our guys take it as such. The stars come out when the lights are on, and I know our guys get excited. Not only for football fans but also for their peers because I think everyone in the business watches prime-time football."
"We love our fans, and we love to play in front of them wherever they're watching," Heyward said. "We can go on the road and do well, too, but we enjoy this, no question."
No one's seized this scene quite like Ben Roethlisberger, now 19-3 in prime-time games at Heinz Field. Overall, the Steelers are 23-7 in prime-time games since the stadium opened in 2001, including 7-1 on Thursday nights.
PLENTY OF RESPECT FOR LEBEAU
Even though their offense was tearing up Dick LeBeau's defense, the Steelers showed plenty of respect for their former coordinator following this game.
In fact, Heyward said the Steelers' five-sack, four-interception performance was a tribute to LeBeau.
"It’s a salute to him because this defense wouldn’t be anywhere without him," Heyward said. "He’s the architect behind this. We appreciate his efforts. We miss him."
TITANS MAN UP
The Titans tried to play man-to-man defense against the Steelers, and it didn't work out so well, particularly against Antonio Brown, who caught 10 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns on 13 targets. That means Roethlisberger had a passer rating of 151.9 -- 158.3 is the maximum -- when targeting Brown.
The man approach goes against most everything LeBeau did while with the Steelers, but the father of the zone blitz has always changed with the times.
"They did some two-man, some regular man," Roethlisberger said. "It’s a Coach LeBeau-style Rolodex. Throw a blitz. Show a blitz and back out. In the second half, especially, the line helped us all play better."
Our Dale Lolley asked Brown if it's disrespectful for a team to try to cover him one-on-one with no help.
"No, I love it sometimes, or all the time, for the most part," he said. "When you have two guys on you all the time, it's tough. I love it when guys bet on their guy against me. I'll take that matchup all day."
Brown surpassed 1,000 yards for the season, making him the Steelers' first wide receiver to have five in a row.
BLOCK PARTY
No one on the Steelers' staff shows more fire on a daily basis than Danny Smith, the special teams coach who probably eats firecrackers for breakfast each morning.
So it shouldn't have surprised anyone that his players rushed his way after T.J. Watt's blocked field goal in the first half to show their appreciation for his work:
The achievement's more significant in context: The Steelers have now blocked a punt and a field goal in the same season for the first time since 2002. Tyler Matakevich blocked the punt in this season's opener in Cleveland.
DILLY, DILLY
A recent commercial for an adult beverage uses the term "dilly, dilly" throughout, much to the liking of several Steelers, who have used it during and after practices. And now, apparently, during games.
Live microphones picked up the Steelers using the phrase as an audible.
"Was that there?" David DeCastro asked. "That’s hilarious."
He then called over to Alejandro Villanueva, who apparently began the usage.
"Hey, Al, 'dilly dilly' is all over the internet," DeCastro hollered. "You’ll have to ask Al about that. That was one of his creations. I wasn’t too fond of it, but of course it goes viral."
Our Chris Benson of Benstonium fame, naturally, would like to assist in that process: