CLEVELAND --Jerome Bettis has had more carries in his career than Frenchy Fuqua, the Steelers' 11th-leading career rusher, had yards. And it's always been about the carries with Bettis, who is in his 11th NFL season.

	Steelers running back Jerome Bettis fights off Browns defensive lineman Orpheus Roye yesterday. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette) Click photo for larger image.

Bettis became only the fifth player in league history to surpass 3,000 career carries yesterday, and he did it in a game when the Steelers dusted some of the cobwebs from their running game and managed to gain more yards on the ground than in the air.

Bettis had 24 carries for 93 yards, both season-highs, in the Steelers' 13-6 victory against the Cleveland Browns, and joined Emmitt Smith (4,117), Walter Payton (3,838), Barry Sanders (3,062) and Marcus Allen (3,022) as the only players to get more than 3,000 carries in their career.

More important, Bettis said the workload is proof the Steelers' running game is not nonexistent, just not used enough.

"It's always been here, you just need the opportunities," said Bettis, the 10th-leading rusher in NFL history who has 3,001 carries. "When you get it 13 times, it's hard. I don't know how many times I got it, close to 25 times, now you see the production. When you get it 13 to 14 times, you criticize a guy and say maybe he's this, maybe [he's] that, but you don't get it 24 to 25 times, you don't get a chance to show anything."

The Steelers still haven't managed a 100-yard game by a running back this season, one of only four teams to achieve that dubious distinction. And their running game is not likely to climb a whole lot from its No. 31 spot in the NFL rankings, even after finishing with 109 yards on 31 attempts against the Browns.

But, in a game in which Tommy Maddox completed only 9 of 24 passes for 73 yards, the Steelers needed to turn to their running game to protect the lead given them by their defense. The Steelers, who came into the game with an AFC-low 11 takeaways, had five against the Browns -- three recovered fumbles, two interceptions -- leading to all their points.

Bettis responded, carrying 13 times for 51 yards in the second half, even breaking off his longest run of the season -- 21 yards -- in the fourth quarter to set up Jeff Reed's 46-yard field goal.

"That's why right now I'm frustrated," Bettis said. "The treatment Amos [Zereoue] got when he was the starter, I don't know that theRe was a game where he got 25 carries. He was judged prematurely. I come in, I'm judged prematurely. But, if we don't get the opportunity, as a running back what can you do?"

Indeed, it was easily the most carries by a back this season, eclipsing the 18 carries Bettis had in the victory against Arizona. Bettis also had 17 carries for 50 yards a week earlier in Seattle, but he likes to get 20 to 25 carries to be effective, using his size to wear down defenses in the second half.

"This not only validates me, it validates Amos in the sense we have to get the football in order to make something happen," Bettis said. "And that's disappointing because the public perception is whatever they read, and if they read we're washed up or we're not good, then that's what they believe. And if we don't get the opportunity, how can we show that we can play?"

The Steelers were hoping the return of left tackle Marvel Smith, who missed most of the past seven games with a pinched nerve in his neck (he appeared for three plays against the Browns Oct. 5), would bolster the running game. That would allow two-time Pro Bowler Alan Faneca to return to his natural spot at left guard after starting the past five games at left tackle.

But center Jeff Hartings went out in the second quarter with a right knee injury and did not return. He was replaced by Chukky Okobi.

"It felt like old times," Smith said of the running game. "Even when they knew we were running the ball, we were still able to run the ball. If you're able to do that, you get some momentum."

"We were trying to pound the ball a lot," Faneca said. "There was a short time there where we kept leaving the defense out there by going three-and-out. But we kept pounding it, even though we went three-and-out."

In the end, the guy doing all the dirty work was Bettis, who carried four times for 26 yards on the drive that resulted in Reed's final field goal, then pounded out on 17 yards on four carries after that. His 6-yard run on second-and-9 from the Steelers' 49, with 1:34 remaining, gave him 3,000 carries.

When he came off the field, he was congratulated by running backs coach Dick Hoak, whose career rushing total in nine seasons -- 3,965 yards -- isn't far above Bettis' career carries.

"That's big," Bettis said of the milestone. "I've been very blessed and fortunate to be able to play that long and take that many shots. With 3,000 carries, that's 3,000 hits."

Asked if he got hit on every play, Bettis said, "A couple times, about 10 to 15, I ran out of bounds. Other than that, I got about 2,950 hits."