For a while now, we've been asking the real to please stand up. It took 30 minutes on Thursday night, but finally they awakened. And when it happened, when all of the individual parts finally came together, it was everything we always wanted them to be: an explosion of points and GIF-worthy plays.On a frigid Thursday night at Heinz Field, the Steelers improved to an impre sive 8-2 with a two-faced 40-17 win against the now 6-4 . In the first half, the Steelers resembled the team that disappointed us through the first 10 weeks of the season. In the second half, the Steelers morphed into the team we desperately craved through the first 10 weeks of the season: a team worthy of challenging the in the AFC Mark McGwire Jersey . finally threw the heck out of the football. , per usual, did Antonio Brown things. For the first time all season, And the defense forced four turnovers. This version of this Steelers team is a foe that the rest of the -- yes, including the Patriots -- will have to reckon with come January. It just remains to be seen if this version can be sustained. It should be sustainable. Roethlisberger is 35, but he shouldn't have been playing as poorly as he had been until Thursday night. Brown is still the best receiver in the league. is the reliable No. 2 target that can't seem to become. is still the best all-around back in football right now. And that defense is oozing young talent. Maybe, just maybe, Thursday night marked a change in the Steelers' season. Maybe they turned the corner. Hopefully Thursday night won't an aberration, another Because the NFL is a league lacking quality teams and it could use another one. Mood update. Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) The Steelers didn't waste any time getting going. On the Tony Phillips Jersey opening series, Roethlisberger went 4 of 5 for 71 yards. Forty-one of those yards came on a touchdown bomb to Brown after Roethlisberger used the hard count to earn a free play. Brown's ball skills remain superb. Big Ben launches deep and leaps for the 41-yard TD! NFL (@NFL) This is the Steelers' pa sing game operating at its peak. Also, note the SkyCam and how we could actually see the play develop downfield. We Meanwhile, the Titans didn't waste any time ... giving the ball back to the Steelers. On their third play, Marcus Mariota mi sed an open receiver way high and by the time gravity brought the ball back down to Earth, Steelers cornerback was waiting under it like he was fielding a punt. Again, note the camera angle. We knew that Mariota's pa s was doomed the second he released it. . looking like a centerfield out there... Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) The Steelers wound up kicking a field goal to take an early 10-0 lead. Then the Titans woke up, embarking on an 11-play, 68-yard drive that included a sick toe-drag catch by rookie ... Some rookie from NFL (@NFL) ... and culminated with this Mariota touchdown run. UPDATE: Marcus Mariota is fast.And he's got a rushing TD! NFL (@NFL) The Titans' mistakes began to piling up in the second quarter. First, there was a blocked field goal, which would've tied the game. Nope. Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) And then there was Mariota's second awful interception of the half. He misread the coverage (he probably thought he was facing zone, not man-to-man), stared down his target, and nearly threw a pick-six. . INTERCEPTION!The second pick Santiago Casilla Jersey of the night. NFL (@NFL) Once again, the Titans' defense held Pittsburgh to a field goal. The Titans' defense was doing its job. The offense and special teams weren't. At halftime, after another lengthy field goal, the Steelers led 16-7. Actually, hold up. We can't glo s over that field goal, because that field goal was only po sible due to a mi sed call. On the Steelers' scoring drive, Brown fumbled the ball forward, and that fumble was recovered by Bryant (remember him?). With under two minutes remaining in the half, the officials to the point of the fumble. They didn't. As a result, the Steelers gained roughly 10 yards, which definitely helped on their 50-yard field goal. So back to fumble, 84 fumbles is at about the 41, and is recovered by pit #10 at around the 32. Under two minutes or 4th Dave Henderson Jersey down, only the fumbler can advance a fumble. The ball should have been brought back to the spot of the fumble F Zs (@footballzebras) OK, onto the second half. The Titans, like the Steelers in the first half, got going immediately. On their first play from scrimmage, Mariota and hooked up for a 75-yard touchdown. Suddenly, in 11 seconds, the Titans turned a nine-point game into a two-point thriller. On the first play of the second half...Mariota to for the 75-YARD TD! NFL (@NFL) It didn't last long. The Steelers' response? Their own 75-yard drive -- except they used 10 plays and 4:48 of game time. It ended with Brown's second touchdown. TOUCHDOWN .Big Ben to for the second time tonight! NFL (@NFL) The Titans should've answered with another touchdown, but normally reliable tight end dropped a wide-open touchdown. They settled for a field goal, trimming the deficit to six points. The Steelers, on the other hand, were done with field goals. They scored again, this time via Le'Veon BellRoethlisberger and tight end after Bell had a touchdown ruled down at the 1-yard line due to an official review. Regardle s of the source, the Steelers led by 13 points with nearly a full quarter to play. The lead grew to 20 points when Brown came down with his version of the helmet catch and as a result, KO'd the Titans' comeback chances. Just stop it, ...IT'S A HELMET CATCH! NFL (@NFL) Read on for seven takeaways. 1. Big Ben ain't dead yet Entering Thursday night, Roethlisberger had been a ma sive disappointment. He'd thrown 12 touchdowns and 10 picks, and accumulated an 83.8 pa ser rating. Finally, against the Titans, he began to resemble the quarterback he once was. Marcus Semien Jersey Ben Roethlisberger completed 15 of his last 16 pa ses for 141 yards and 3 TD ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) In all, Roethlisberger went 30 of 45 for 299 yards, four touchdowns, no picks, and a 115.0 pa ser rating. He dodged sacks in the pocket in his typical hulking, ungraceful way. He sliced up the Titans' secondary with precise darts and anticipatory throws. And he actually didn't come close to throwing any interceptions.Big Ben is permanently back! Maybe? Hopefully?We'll see. 2. Antonio Brown is still amazing No one ever doubted Brown like they doubted Big Ben -- and with good reason. Brown entered the game leading the league in receiving yards despite getting subpar quarterback play. He certainly benefited by his quarterback's resurgence. Brown finished with 144 yards and three touchdowns on 10 receptions. In the proce s, he came down with one of the catches of the season. Unreal, . NFL (@NFL) To be clear, Brown is still better than the robot that will eventually end all of hu