Guard Alan Faneca wasn't sure if his left ring finger was broken until he went back into his three-point stance against Oakland Sunday. The finger slipped to the left, and he knew.

"I was like, all right, it's broke."

Faneca wore a bright white cast yesterday to prove it. The cast was autographed by his wife, Julie.

"I can't wear the wedding ring, so she signed it," Faneca said.

The broken finger, though, won't prevent him from playing and, he said, won't take away from anything he can do on the field.

"I'll be fine," Faneca said.

The Steelers cannot afford to lose another lineman, not after what happened last year and not after they lost guard Kendall Simmons in the preseason. Simmons, out with a torn ACL, was scheduled to have surgery on his knee yesterday.

Bettis ties record

Jerome Bettis owns plenty of NFL highlights, but this is the first time he has owned a league record.

Bettis tied a record against the Oakland Raiders Sunday that was set 15 years ago by San Diego's little-known Hank Bauer. Bettis and Bauer share the record for fewest yards rushing while running for three touchdowns or more. That's according to the crack researchers at the Elias Sports Bureau, which compiles the NFL's official statistics.

As Bettis did Sunday, Bauer ran for three touchdowns but had just 1 yard rushing in a Dec. 9, 1979, game for the Chargers in New Orleans. Like Bettis, Bauer's team won. The only difference between the two is Bettis carried five times against Oakland and Bauer carried four against the Saints.

Bettis must hope the similarities end there because Bauer had only 22 carries for 28 yards that season in which the Chargers finished 12-4. He scored eight touchdowns. Bauer rushed for only 377 yards in a six-year career that ended in 1982.

Bettis ranks fifth in NFL history with 12,354 yards rushing.

Stuvaints returns

Safety Russell Stuvaints returned to the Steelers yesterday after one week on New England's practice squad.

The Steelers signed him to their 53-man roster to replace safety Ainsley Battles, who was placed on the injured reserve list.

Battles has a hamstring injury (originally described as an ankle injury).

He beat out Stuvaints for one of the final roster spots because, coach Bill Cowher explained, Battles can play both safety positions.

Stuvaints, a McKeesport native who played at Youngstown State, plays strong safety exclusively.

Stuvaints spent most of last season on the practice squad but played four games after the Steelers signed him to their 53-man roster.

Battles will not be eligible to play for the Steelers the rest of the year, but once he's healthy, they can release him and he can play elsewhere.

Reed back on track

Kicker Jeff Reed had a disappointing second season in 2003 when he made only 23 of his 32 field goal tries after going 17 of 19 as a rookie. He survived a summer bid for his job by Rob Bironas and made the winner Sunday.

Reed kicked a 42-yard field goal with seven seconds to go for the three-point victory, and made all three of his PATs.

"The fans may look at me as hero," Reed said. "But these guys fought their tails off. I made one kick and my extra points.

"It came down to one play, but these guys got me in position, they're the heroes. I'm just on their team. That's my role as a kicker, to come through when they need me."

Playing for two

The Steelers will try to win two games in a row Sunday when they play in Baltimore. They haven't won two in a row since they finished the 2002 season with three consecutive victories.

The best they did last season was two wins in three games.

"It hasn't even been discussed," defensive end Aaron Smith said. "I didn't even realize we didn't put two together last year. I think everybody now is taking it day to day, game to game."