TAMPA, Fla. -- Incited by their coach and fueled by remarks they perceived to be disrespectful of their suddenly rejuvenated football team, the Steelers went out and, in no particular order, pounded their chests, pounded quarterback Brad Johnson and pounded their way through holes bigger than Warren Sapp's mouth.
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Jerome Bettis scores on a 46-yard touchdown run. He rushed for 143 yards and also threw a touchdown pass. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Photos) |
About the only thing the Steelers enjoyed more than their 17-10 victory yesterday over Tampa Bay -- their fourth win in a row and eighth in their past 10 games -- was the manner in which they ended the Buccaneers' six-game home winning streak.
"Whaddya think about us now?" safety Lee Flowers screamed as he ran off the field at Raymond James Stadium.
Indeed, there was little about the Steelers' performance that didn't conjure memories of the way they used to play football. Jerome Bettis rushed for 143 yards on 17 carries -- his fourth 100-yard game in a row -- and ripped off a 46-yard touchdown run , the second-longest scoring run of his career. He also threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jerame Tuman on yet another gadget play employed by offensive coordinator, Mike Mularkey.
Defensively, the Steelers sacked Johnson a club-record-tying 10 times -- four by outside linebacker Joey Porter -- and batted down four of his passes. They also held the Pro Bowl backfield of Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott to 45 yards on 16 carries.
Things went so well the Steelers even got a reversal from the officials and were awarded possession of an onside kick with 28 seconds remaining, right when Coach Bill Cowher was thinking about what happened last season against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"To go out and beat a team that a lot of people said would go to the Super Bowl, and the way we beat them, says a lot," cornerback Dewayne Washington said.
The victory improved the Steelers to 4-1, keeping them in first place in the AFC Central Division and tying them with the Oakland Raiders for the best record in the AFC. The only other time the Steelers have started faster under Cowher was in 1996, the year following their Super Bowl appearance, when they were 5-1.
The Steelers have a chance to put some ground between them and the rest of the AFC Central because their next five games are against division opponents. Included in that stretch is two games against the Tennessee Titans and one against the Baltimore Ravens.
"I think we're getting better and we're getting confidence," Cowher said. "We've bought into what we're trying to do and the players believe in it. They like playing the game and the way we're playing it right now."
It was Cowher who tried to rile his players the night before when he showed them a newspaper clipping of comments made by Alstott, who said he felt comfortable running against the Steelers defense after Priest Holmes gained 150 yards against them a week earlier in Kansas City.
"They said they were looking forward to playing us," Cowher said. "Priest Holmes did that against our dime defense. Let's put things in perspective."
Also, Cowher made sure to tell his players that Sapp, a Pro Bowl defensive tackle, said the Steelers would not be able to run against the Buccaneers defense like they had in previous victories against Buffalo, Cincinnati and Kansas City, despite having the NFL's No. 1 rush offense.
All the Steelers did was rush for 220 yards on 35 carries, their third 200-yard rushing game in a row and second-highest output of the season.
"I didn't hear as much talking on the field," said Bettis, who moved into 13th place on the NFL's all-time rushing list when he scored on a 46-yard run in the second quarter to give the Steelers a 14-3 lead. "They didn't say a lot."
It was Bettis who gave the Steelers their first lead when, on third-and-2 at the Tampa Bay 32, he started to his right, pulled up and lofted a 32-yard scoring pass to Tuman, who went untouched into the end zone.
Then, on the team's third play from scrimmage in the second half, Bettis started to his right, followed blocks by fullback Jon Witman and guard Alan Faneca, and cut back to the left for a 46-yard touchdown run -- his longest since he scored on a 50-yard run against his former team, the St. Louis Rams, in 1996.
"Our players tend to take things personally," defensive coordinator Tim Lewis said.
Nobody took it more personally than Flowers.
"I'm tired of Tampa Bay, I'm tired of all those guys who talk all the time," Flowers said. "They ain't nothing but paper champions. That's all they were, that's all they've ever been.
"They have All-Pros and All-Worlds, but you still have to step up and play the game. People aren't going to bow down just because you went to Hawaii. This was a team we needed to beat. This was a defense we needed to outplay and gain respect."
Said linebacker Jason Gildon, "I hope this says when you get ready to play the Steelers, don't underestimate us. I think Tampa Bay did. They didn't respect us as a team."
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Cornerback Deshea Townsend is all over Buccaneers quarterback Brad Johnson as he records one of the Steelers '10 sacks yesterday. Tampa Bay managed only 209 total yards. |
But, after Tampa Bay cut the lead to seven points with Johnson's 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Frank Murphy with 28 seconds remaining, the Steelers had to fight through a flashback of last year's overtime loss to the Eagles and recover an onside kick that nearly was awarded to the Buccaneers. The person who came up with the ball was tight end Mark Bruener, who fought through a pile of four Tampa Bay players to wrest the ball away from cornerback Brian Kelly.
"Just because you don't have the ball at the beginning of the pile doesn't mean you don't have it at the end," Bruener said. "I just kept digging."
Ironically, Bruener was the player who had the ball knocked from his grasp last year against the Eagles on a play when the officials failed to detect a Philadelphia player touching the ball before the required 10 yards -- a mistake for which the league later apologized. The Eagles were awarded possession and went on to win in overtime.
This time, after signaling the Steelers had recovered, referee Ed Hochuli changed his mind and ruled that Kelly had possession when he hit the ground, awarding the ball to Tampa Bay. But, after the officials in the press box called for a replay review. Hochuli reversed the decision again and awarded possession to the Steelers, saying Kelly was juggling the ball and never had control when he hit the ground.
"I was thinking about Philadelphia at the end of the game," Cowher said.
Steelers silence Buccaneers, pound way to fourth consecutive victory 
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