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Monday, December 31, 2001

CINCINNATI -- What once seemed like a clear path to the Super Bowl for the Steelers suddenly has the look of a road strewn with obstacles.

We all knew the Steelers could be beaten. But like this? By the perennially hapless Cincinnati Bengals? By the least potent offense in the NFL?

If the Steelers were to lose, the conventional wisdom went, it would be because of the erratic toe of Kris Brown, or the absence of Jerome Bettis, or a reversal of form of Kordell Stewart.

To be sure, Brown missed his third extra point of the season, Bettis sat out his fourth consecutive game, and Stewart threw four interceptions. But this defeat yesterday can not be attributed to what Brown, Bettis and Stewart did not do.

This loss belongs to the mighty Steelers defense. This loss goes to what had been the No. 1 defense in the NFL.

"We couldn't stop the pass. We couldn't stop the run. We couldn't stop anything," safety Lee Flowers said.

The Bengals shoved the Steelers all over Paul Brown Stadium, piling up yardage totals few would have thought possible while recording a 26-23 overtime victory. The final score was all the more extraordinary because the Steelers led by 13 points after three quarters and had not allowed an offensive touchdown.

Who would have figured the NFL's most inept offense -- averaging only seven points in the past six games -- could dominate the Steelers. But dominate the Bengals did. They ran for 141 yards and passed for 403. Their total offense of 544 yards was 139 more than any other team had against the Steelers.

What's more, they dominated possession. The Bengals ran an astonishing 99 plays -- 30 more than any other Steelers opponent.

By virtue of Oakland's loss to Denver, the Steelers will have home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, but opponents coming into Heinz Field will have renewed hope and the outline of a possibly successful game plan based on what the Bengals did.

The architect of this victory was journeyman Jon Kitna, who came into the game with a passing rating of 58.1 and twice as many interceptions as touchdowns -- 20-10. His passing rating yesterday was 73.8 and he had twice as many touchdowns as interceptions.

In the fourth quarter and overtime, Kitna threw for 183 yards, which is more yardage than nine Steelers opponents could muster in an entire game.

"They did a lot of max protecting that took the blitz away and made it hard to pressure him," safety Brent Alexander said. "We had a lot of room out there to cover."

And the Steelers weren't covering it. Cornerback Dwayne Washington was torched all game by Kitna and receivers Peter Warrick, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Darnay Scott, who combined for 26 catches and 320 yards.

Asked if the Bengals were picking on Washington, Coach Bill Cowher said, "That's where they were going with the football."

Still, the Steelers had victory within reach when a Josh Miller punt was downed on the Bengals' 1 after the first possession of overtime.

The subsequent series loomed as a mismatch of monumental proportions. The best defense against the worst offense.

"We had them backed up on the half-yard line -- not even the half-yard line probably the goal line," linebacker Joey Porter said, "and we let them drive down there to kick a field goal and win the game.

"That's not how we play. I'm thinking a safety or something to win the game and we let them march all the way down the field."

Most embarrassing was that the Bengals moved from their 1 to the Steelers' 13 -- from where Neil Rackers kicked the winner -- with premier running back Corey Dillon out with a finger injury.

In his place, Brandon Bennett ran 44 yards on four carries, while Kitna was completing 4 of 6 passes for 42 yards. It was slow torture for the Steelers who forced the Bengals into only one third-down situation on the 11-play drive.

"At some point in time, we have to make a play and get off the field," Alexander said. "But they continued over and over to make the play they needed and get the first down."

When asked if he was worried about the loss, Cowher stuck out his chin said, "We'll respond. I'm not worried about that."

The Steelers still are the best team in the AFC. But not by nearly as much as they had been.

Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.