Chris Johnson admits Steelers' Polamalu was 'insane,' describes scandalous play against Titans in 2010

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens both have well-earned reputations since the early 2000s for having tough defensive players to play against. When Chris Johnson was drafted in the first round by the Tennessee Titans in the 2008 NFL Draft, their rosters included names like Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, Ed Reed, and Ray Lewis.

The now-retired running back is a contributor for The 33rd Team and recently did a segment detailing the five toughest defenders he ever faced, in no particular order. Polamalu, Lewis, and Reed made Johnson's list as well as non-AFC North members Dwight Freeney, best recognized as a member of the Indianapolis Colts, and career Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs. The biggest thing that stood out to Johnson about the Steelers four-time All-Pro safety was his versatility. 

"Troy played everywhere on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers," he said. "When we did scouting reports on Troy, we didn’t have a position for him because he played everywhere. He played defensive line, he played linebacker, he played safety, he played cornerback. We’re talking about a guy who’s gonna line up at every single position on the field, and you didn’t know if he’s covering or if he’s blitzing. You didn’t know what to do against him."    

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Polamalu and Johnson faced off against each other five times in their careers, all when Johnson was a Titan. They missed a meeting in 2012 due to a calf injury that caused Polamalu to miss Week 6-12 and Week 10 in 2014 when Johnson had become a member of the New York Jets because Polamalu was inactive due to a sprained knee. 

Some of the greatest plays of his career came against the Titans and Johnson has a distinct memory of one of the defining highlights of the Pittsburgh safety. The Steelers visited Tennessee in a wild Week 2 game in 2010 with Dennis Dixon starting due to the suspension of Ben Roethlisberger. Pittsburgh earned a 19-11 victory, with both teams using both quarterbacks. Antonio Brown opened up the scoring on an 89-yard kick-off reverse from Mewelde Moore, Pittsburgh's defense had seven takeaways and the offense did enough to put Jeff Reed in position to kick four field goals. 

With a minute left to play the Steelers were holding onto a 19-3 lead and the Titans lined up at the one-yard line prepared to push quarterback Kerry Collins into the end zone with the Steelers star safety lined up close to the line.     

"I remember one play when I was with the Tennessee Titans, and we were at the goal line. Kerry Collins was our quarterback, and he was about to do a sneak," he said. "As soon as the ball was hiked and before Kerry can go forward, Troy had already jumped over the line of scrimmage and was on Kerry’s back. It was crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it." 

Overall in their five meetings, Polamalu and the Steelers got the better of Johnson's Titans in three of the five meetings. They certainly did make life difficult for Johnson in their matchups. He found the end zone only twice and had a high of 70 rushing yards in a 16-9 Steelers loss in 2013.