PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Rocky Boiman's favorite musical group is Metallica. On Sunday, he rocked the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Replacing injured starter Peter Sirmon at strongside linebacker in the first quarter, Boiman sacked quarterback Tommy Maddox in the end zone for a safety and returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown to lead the Tennessee Titans to a 30-13 victory over the Steelers.
"It was kind of a dream day for me," said Boiman, who draws raves for his fierce play on special teams and listens to the rock group Metallica as part of his pre-game ritual.
Steve McNair was nearly perfect for Tennessee (3-1), completing 15-of-16 passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns, and improved his career record to 10-3 against the Steelers.
"You look at the stats - 15 of 16 and three touchdowns - but you have to look at all the defense did," McNair said. "They gave us some tremendous opportunities on the short side of the field. We just wanted to go out and be patient."
Pittsburgh (2-2) was seeking a measure of revenge after losing at Tennessee during the regular season and in the divisional playoff in 2002. And the Steelers dominated at the start, opening with a 16-play, 78-yard drive that consumed more than nine minutes and resulted in a 26-yard field goal by Jeff Reed.
A five-yard touchdown run by Amos Zereoue early in the second quarter increased the lead to 10-0.
But Boiman, a fourth-round pick in 2002 out of Notre Dame, turned the momentum with a sack of Maddox in the end zone with 10:10 left in the second quarter. The officials ruled that Maddox sneaked the ball out of the end zone, but Titans coach Jeff Fisher challenged the call and replay officials called it a safety.
"The defensive line put a lot of pressure and I was able to get in on Maddox," said Boiman.
"I was just trying to get out of the end zone and slipped," Maddox said. "Once I did that I was kind of caught back there."
After the ensuing free kick, Steve McNair hit Drew Bennett with a 42-yard pass over the middle. Two plays later, McNair lofted a pass in the left corner of the end zone to Bennett for a 10-yard touchdown, pulling the Titans (3-1) within 10-9 with 7:03 remaining.
Cornerback Samari Rolle cut in front of receiver Plaxico Burress and returned an interception 49 yards to the Pittsburgh 1 with less than a minute left in the half. After Eddie George was stuffed for no gain on a running play, McNair hit tight end Erron Kinney in the back of the end zone for a one-yard touchdown, giving Tennessee its first lead, 16-13, with 26 seconds left in the half.
The Steelers had a chance to tie the game in the third quarter, but Tank Williams partially blocked a 30-yard field goal attempt by Reed.
"We set up the play for me to do that," Williams said. "The gap was there and I got through."
"That was tough for us, to control the ball and get no points," said Steelers coach Bill Cowher. "We had a chance to tie the game with a field goal and didn't do it. We were in the red zone, we just didn't capitalize."
McNair hit Justin McCareins with a 29-yard touchdown with 4:33 left in the third quarter to increase the lead to 23-13 McCareins caught three passes for 47 yards to highlight the nine-play, 80-yard drive.
Boiman sealed the win with his interception return in the fourth quarter. Williams came in on a safety blitz and Maddox rushed a low throw to tight end Jay Riemersma, but Boiman was in perfect position to record his first career interception and turned it into his first touchdown.
"I made the rush on the pass play at the right time," Williams said. "He (Boiman) made the interception and took it to the house."
Boiman replaced Sirmon, who suffered a back injury in the first quarter.
Maddox, who suffered a concussion and a neck injury in a loss at Tennessee last November, completed 31-of-47 passes for 332 yards. Hines Ward had nine catches for 76 yards.
"I feel we were able to move the ball and did some things we wanted to do," Maddox said. "We controlled the clock, we made first downs, but we also turned the ball over. When you give a good team 16 points, that pretty much sums it up."
