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Monday, November 06, 2000

By Ed Bouchette and Ron Cook, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Steelers vs. Eagles, 1 p.m. Sunday, Three Rivers Stadium. TV: WPGH. Radio: WDVE-FM (102.5), WBGG-AM (970). Philadelphia makes just its fourth -- and final -- visit to Three Rivers Stadium. Eagles lead the all-time series, 45-26-3.

Dermontti Dawson, Steelers C, left the game in the second quarter with a right hamstring injury and did not return. Roger Duffy replaced him.

Corey Geason, Steelers TE, left the game in the first quarter with a sprained left knee and did not return.

Dewayne Washington, Steelers CB, left the game briefly in the second quarter with a "stinger." He took a knee to the head and his body went numb for about a minute. However, he returned later in the quarter and played the remainder of the game.

Kimo von Oelhoffen, Steelers NT, left the game in the second quarter with a stinger, but he also returned to play.

Carl Pickens, Titans WR, left the game after reinjuring his hamstring.

Chris Sanders, Titans WR, left in the fourth quarter with a rib injury.

Unless Bill Cowher changes his mind, Kordell Stewart will make his first Three Rivers Stadium start of the season Sunday when the Steelers play the Philadelphia Eagles. Cowher said Stewart will make his third consecutive start, even though he completed just 7 of 22 passes yesterday against the Titans and threw his second interception of the season.. Yesterday's loss dropped Stewart's record as a starter to 3-1, all on the road. The last time he started at home -- Nov. 28, 1999 -- he was replaced in the second quarter by Mike Tomczak in a game the Steelers lost to Cincinnati, 27-20. Stewart had little reaction to Cowher's staying with him. Asked what it meant, he replied, "I'm going to start next week." Kent Graham has started the other five games.

No Steelers receiver had more than one catch yesterday, although Hines Ward and Troy Edwards each dropped chances to get a second one. Seven different receivers had receptions yesterday. "We need to catch the ball when it's thrown," Ward said. "Kordell's got to make better reads on his progression, and the offensive line has to give him a chance to throw it." Edwards was not in a happy mood after the game. He dropped a pass that hit him in the midsection. "I don't know what to believe now," he said. "I don't know about me, I don't know about nothing. I dropped the ball, man. I deserve to be on the sidelines. I made mistakes, other people made mistakes, and you can't do that against a team like Tennessee." Coach Bill Cowher pulled rookie Plaxico Burress out of the lineup at one point and inserted veteran Courtney Hawkins.

LB Jason Gildon tackled Steve McNair for his sixth sack of the season, the only time the Titans' QB was brought down behind the line of scrimmage. He ran five times for 50 yards and frustrated the Steelers' defense by breaking out of tackles and also by fooling them on bootlegs. "They managed to get us on it two or three times until we figured it out," S Brent Alexander said. "That's the type of quarterback McNair is," LB Joey Porter said. "I know I definitely had him on [the final drive]. I beat the guy and came around and had him in my hands and he put a move on. He's big and strong, you can't arm-tackle the guy. You have to put a good lick on him. I reached out with an arm, and he broke my tackle and that's how it went all day. He was just running around all day and making plays, beating us with his feet and beating us with his arm."

Titans RB Eddie George earned his paycheck with 34 carries for 98 yards. It's no wonder he said afterward, "I'm sore all over."

When the Steelers vote for the Pro Bowl quarterback, don't be surprised if they vote for McNair. "He's a good passer and he's the best scrambler I've ever seen," S Lee Flowers said. "It's so hard to play against him because the play is never over with him. It's hard to stay with your receiver for five or six seconds, but you have to do it because he can move around and avoid a sack until one of his guys gets open." McNair completed 20 of 31 passes for 227 yards. "Eddie George is a load," CB Dewayne Washington said, "but McNair is the difference for them. It's amazing the big plays he makes."

The Titans blamed themselves for making the game so close because of 14 penalties for 115 yards. "It's very frustrating when you get something going and make a big play and you look behind you and there's a flag," McNair said. "It didn't just happen once or twice. It happened consistently." Although the Titans are 8-1, Coach Jeff Fisher is far from satisfied. "We have a lot to get corrected. The way we played today, we won't win a lot of games."

Steelers G Rich Tylski got an early-morning wake-up call yesterday in Nashville. His wife, Jane, gave birth to their third son at 4 a.m. in Pittsburgh after just two hours of labor. By 7 a.m., Tylski was in the Sheraton Music City gift shop, hunting for cigars.

The Steelers deactivated DE Chris Combs, WR Malcolm Johnson, LB Donnell Thompson, LB Clark Haggans, OT Shar Pourdanesh, DE Jeremy Staat and RB Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala.

The Steelers have not scored more than one touchdown in any of their past four games.

The victory was the 300th for the Titans/Oilers franchise.

LB Joey Porter's interception at the Steelers' 4 in the second quarter was the first of his career. It came after Hank Poteat fumbled a punt return to give Tennessee a first down at the Steelers' 18.

The Steelers' streak of not allowing a touchdown reached 20 quarters, two short of tying their record of 22 set in 1976.

Tennessee ran its record to 13-0 at Adelphia Stadium.

The Titans are 21-2 against AFC Central opponents since 1998.

LB Earl Holmes led the Steelers with 15 tackles.

Steelers QB Kordell Stewart, who completed 7 of 22 passes on a day the offense produced seven points and 167 yards: "It was a great effort by all facets of the team."

If the Steelers defensive players are getting tired of their offense, which has scored just one touchdown in each of the past four games, they did a good job of not showing it. They blamed themselves for the defeat.

"They gave us the seven points that we needed," LB Levon Kirkland said. "It was up to us to stop them at the end. We didn't."

Titans QB Steve McNair completed a 17-yard pass to WR Derrick Mason on fourth-and-8 from the Steelers' 42 with 2:12 left to set up the winning field goal.

"If you're going to win a game like this, you have to make the plays when it counts," LB Joey Porter said. "We had to find a way to stop that play. We didn't get it done as a defense."

No one took solace in the fact the defense didn't allow a touchdown for the fifth consecutive game.

"This one hurts," S Lee Flowers said. "When you hold a team to three field goals, you should win."