KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Perhaps it is time for the Steelers to consider some psychiatric therapy. They have a quarterback who acts like a running back, a wide receiver who plays safety and a defense that acts as though it's the offense.
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Cornerback Chad Scott scores on a 61-yard interception return early in the third quarter yesterday against the Chiefs. It was the second defensive touchdown for the Steelers this season. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette) |
Oh yeah, and a cornerback who think he's a comic-book superhero.
But, after three consecutive victories that have taken them to the top of the AFC Central Division, the Steelers are not going to be concerned about their mental state. Not when they are 3-1 with an offense that has produced just three touchdowns. Not when the defense has scored just one fewer touchdown than the offense.
"That's one of our goals every week -- to go out and score on defense," cornerback Chad Scott said. "We put pressure on ourselves to do that."
Nobody, though, puts more pressure on himself than Scott, who, until yesterday, had not scored a defensive touchdown since he was in high school. He did not do it in two years as an All-American cornerback at Maryland. And he hadn't done it as a professional since the Steelers made him their No. 1 pick in 1997.
But there he was on the first series of the second half, stepping in front of a Trent Green pass on the right sideline -- a cornerback's autobahn -- and running 61 yards untouched for his first NFL touchdown.
"You love to have them on the sideline," said cornerback Dewayne Washington, who has returned five interceptions for touchdowns in his NFL career. "You know nobody is going to catch you."
Nobody did.
And the Kansas City Chiefs never could catch the Steelers after that.
Scott's touchdown -- the second by the defense in three games -- gave the Steelers a 13-2 lead right about the time the 78,413 in attendance at Arrowhead Stadium were maintaing hope the Chiefs could magically start to look like the previous team Dick Vermeil used to coach.
In the end, even after the Chiefs scored twice in the fourth quarter to make the final score look more palatable, it was the defining moment of a Steelers 20-17 victory that put them a half-game ahead of the Baltimore Ravens in the division standings.
"Especially being the visitor," safety Brent Alexander said. "It really silenced the crowd and really got us going. We knew we had the game in our hands at that point."
For Scott, it was the third consecutive game in which he has had an interception. He has returned all three for a total of 149 yards, an average of 49.6 yards per return.
In the process, he has looked like the plastic figurine that hangs in his locker at the Steelers' South Side training center -- The Wolverine, one of several X-Men superheroes based on the comic-book character. Scott likes the Wolverine because of the manner in which he relentlessly chases down his prey.
"You guys are finally getting to see him play," safety Lee Flowers said. "He's playing some All-Pro football right now. He's got some confidence going."
To be sure, Scott displayed just how much confidence on the first series of the third quarter, the Steelers holding a 6-2 lead provided by kicker Kris Brown.
The Chiefs, facing second-and-2 at the Steelers' 47, tried to run an out pass on the right side to wide receiver Derrick Alexander, a play they ran earlier in the first half.
"He threw that one low," Scott said of the earlier pass thrown by Green. "Or I might have had that one, too."
Scott was waiting this time, too. He was sitting on the out route, meaning he was measuring Green for just the right time to break on the ball, to step in front of Alexander. He was not worried about the Chiefs trying to run a double-move and beat him down the sideline.
He was sitting. Waiting.
"They were squatting on our pass routes," said Vermeil, the first-year Chiefs coach. "When you pick off a three-pattern, you're squatting. Obviously, they thought they could cover us."
Green got fooled by Scott. He saw the 6-foot-1, 210-pound cornerback playing off Alexander and thought he could complete the pass.
"They rolled the coverage to the weak side and I had one-on-one with the corner [playing] off on a 10-yard out route," Green said.
But, as he released the ball, Green was hit from the blindside by linebacker Joey Porter. As he lay on the ground with Porter and guard Victor Riley, who sustained a broken leg on the play, Green saw Scott heading the other way with his pass.
"He made a great break on the ball," Coach Bill Cowher said.
"He couldn't believe the ball was thrown over there because he was so close to the guy," Washington said.
But there was Scott, sprinting down the right sideline, headed for the strangest of destinations -- the end zone. About the only sight more incongruous was wide receiver Plaxico Burress playing safety when the Steelers were guarding against a desperation pass on the final play of the first half.
"He throws the ball on timing," Scott said of Green. "I got a good break and I was able to step in front of [Alexander]."
And what better spot than the sideline.
"That way you get to run a long way with the ball," Scott said.
All the way to the top of the AFC Central, as it turns out.
Play of the Game: Scott's interception return 
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