EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Outside of Pennsylvania and Ohio, the Steelers are terrible.

The Steelers have a perfect 7-0 record at home and in Ohio, yet everywhere else they are 0-3.

Their surprising 19-16 loss to the New York Jets was their third on the road against teams that do not have winning records.

Why the problems on the road?

"I don't know," guard Alan Faneca said. "Historically, we've been a good team on the road."

Said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, "We've always been a good road team. We'll find our groove when we have to, I think."

The Steelers were only 3-5 on the road in their 8-8 season in 2006, but they stamped themselves as one of the great road teams of all time in 2005. Not only did they play better on the road in the regular season, when they went 6-2 in an overall 11-5 record, they swept three games on the road in the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl and then won there, in Detroit.

In 2004, they were 7-1 on the road.

But this year they have lost at Arizona, 21-14, at Denver, 31-28, and now at the New York Jets. They are 5-0 in Heinz Field and have won in Cleveland, 34-7, and Cincinnati, 24-13.

"To get where we want to go we definitely have to win on the road," wide receiver Hines Ward said. "That's what good teams do, they not only win at home, they win on the road. Luckily for us, we have a home game. We're pretty good at home."

The Steelers play the 0-10 Miami Dolphins next Monday night at Heinz Field.

Give them their due

At no time after their previous two losses had the Steelers said they were outhit by their opponents. In fact, the last time they admitted that was when they were bulldozed twice by Baltimore last season.

Yesterday, some Steelers said the New York Jets -- the team with the worst run defense and worst sack record in the NFL -- outhit them.

"They did some things early and they were very physical," Roethlisberger said. "Give them a lot of credit.

"We have to come out and we have to play Steelers football. I don't feel we did that today.

"They were probably the more physical team, and I think it showed."

Good thing they don't

Roethlisberger said the team does not look at the big picture in the NFL, where they held the No. 2 seed in the AFC before yesterday.

Today, that seed belongs to Indianapolis. The No. 2 seed earns a first-week bye in the playoffs, a home game the following week and would be one victory away from a spot in the AFC championship game.

Instead, the Steelers are clinging to a one-game lead in the AFC North Division over Cleveland, although they hold the first tiebreaker there because they beat the Browns twice.

"Our mindset always has been taking care of our division, taking care of our opponents, whoever they might be," Roethlisberger said. "Unfortunately, we didn't get it done today. I don't think it has anything to do with looking ahead."

Bettis vs. Martin

It was Curtis Martin Day in the Meadowlands yesterday. The former Pitt player is the fourth-all-time leading rusher in NFL history, and that could create an interesting matchup in the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting three years from now.

Both Martin and Jerome Bettis will be eligible for the Hall's Class of 2011 -- five years after each played their final games during the 2005 season. Do they both go in at the same time, or does one play off against the other?

Martin finished with 14,101 yards rushing over 11 seasons. Bettis played 13 seasons and had 13,662 yards rushing, fifth on the NFL's career rushing list.

There's nothing wrong with putting the fourth and fifth career rushing leaders into the Hall of Fame at the same time, but if voters line up for one or the other and the vote is split, it could hurt both.

In a way, it happened for years when John Stallworth and Lynn Swann hurt each other by being on the same ballot. When Swann finally broke through and was elected to the Hall of Fame, Stallworth was elected the very next year.

Silencing the "home" crowd

The Jets were the home team, but you wouldn't have known it by looking around the stadium, which was filled with towel-waving Steelers fans.

"Whenever there is a situation like that, you try to minimize the things they are able to cheer for and the amount of things they are able to wave their towels for. That is about all you can do," Jets coach Eric Mangini said.

Jets rookie cornerback Darrelle Revis, an Aliquippa native who played three seasons at Pitt, said, "I thought I was back at Heinz Field. Really, it looked like a road game. I had heard about the Steelers fans and how they travel, but I was still shocked to see all of those Terrible Towels. They did come out today."

Finally, a win

Mangini took the podium and greeted the New York media with a smile, saying, "Obviously this is a lot more fun." The Jets victory over the Steelers broke a six-game losing streak and improved their record to 2-8.

"The apple pie is going to taste better today," Mangini said. "This is a lot better way to spend a Sunday night."

Jets running back/return man Leon Washington said the victory felt like a holiday treat, only a month early, because losing so many games in a row takes its toll on a team's psyche.

"It was joyous," Washington said. "Guys around here were feeling it was about time. It is something we deserve, something we've been working on all year long. We feel like a lot of teams don't respect us any more."

Call him Mr. Jones

Jets tailback Thomas Jones rushed 30 times for 117 yards and thus halted the Steelers' streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher at 34 games. Jones broke a lot of tackles and he was instrumental in keeping the Jets offense, which has been limited because of inconsistent quarterback play, moving forward.

"Thomas showed great individual effort and excellent toughness and the ability to make a lot of yards after contact," Mangini said.

"There were a couple of times he was surrounded at the line of scrimmage and was able to bounce to the outside or cut back. He has done a great job in terms of leadership in the locker room and on the practice field. He understands how important it is to have everyone working together."

Tough lessons

The Jets have lost eight games but five of them have been by a combined 27 points, a sign that they have been close and they are not getting blown out.

They are hoping their upset of the Steelers is the start of a strong finish to a tough season.

"We've had some tough games before," Jets defensive end Kenyon Coleman said, "No one likes to lose but we learned a lot from our losses. Today, we showed that character on the field. Now we just have to put it together and be more consistent."

Inactives

Steelers: No. 3 QB Brian St. Pierre, WR Willie Reid, RB Gary Russell, CB Grant Mason, LB LaMarr Woodley, C Marvin Philip, OL Darnell Stapleton, T Trai Essex.

Jets: No. 3 QB Marques Tuiasosopo, WR Chris Davis, FB Darian Barnes, OL Jacob Bender, OL Adrian Jones, TE Sean Ryan, LB Marques Murrell, DT Eric Hicks.

Quick hits

• Santonio Holmes left the game in the fourth quarter with a right ankle sprain and did not return. His 7-yard touchdown reception was his seventh, giving him the team lead.

• Roethlisberger's 23rd touchdown pass brought him within five of tying Terry Bradshaw's team record.

• The Steelers' 263 total yards were their fewest this season.

• The seven sacks of Roethlisberger were the most since Baltimore sacked him nine times Nov. 26, 2006, in Baltimore.

• The victory was only the third for the Jets against the Steelers, who own the series, 16-3. It made the Steelers 0-2 in overtime games, having also lost by a field goal in Denver.