CINCINNATI--Four of the top five rushers in the American Football Conference play in the Central Division, and that does not include Jacksonville's Fred Taylor, who had 234 yards last week against the Steelers. So none of this is new to Jerome Bettis.
He is accustomed to competing against the best backs in the conference, almost on a weekly basis.
 |
 |
|
Jerome Bettis muscles his way past Bengals defensive back Chris Carter yesterday. Bettis had 23 carries for 93 yards. (Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette) |
"It seems like every week we're playing against great running backs," Bettis said. "Every week it's a challenge. It makes it easier to get up for the game when the guy across from you is considered one of the best in the league."
Yesterday, the guy was Corey Dillon, who rushed for 128 yards on 23 carries and became the eighth player in National Football League history to surpass 1,000 yards in each of his first four seasons.
Bettis, though, was equal to the occasion, gaining 93 yards on 23 carries and scoring on a 7-yard run in a 48-28 Steelers victory. That gave the Bus 1,019 yards in 12 games -- the fifth consecutive season and seventh overall he has gained more than 1,000 yards rushing.
"I get excited running against guys in my own division," Bettis said. "It makes me feel good when I go out and get my job done."
Make no mistake, the AFC Central has enough running backs to stock a couple of Pro Bowl teams. After Indianapolis' Edgerrin James, who was the AFC's leading rusher heading into the weekend, the next four backs play in the same division -- Tennessee's Eddie George, Dillon, Bettis and Baltimore's Jamal Lewis. Taylor, who did not play the first two games of the season, is eighth.
Bettis, though, is the old man in the division, and he's only 28.
With his performance this season, he's making it increasingly difficult for the Steelers not to re-sign him. But Bettis also is driving up his market value, making it plausible that the price tag is too steep for the Steelers to match -- and for him to ignore.
"The one thing I know is, I can play football," he said. "I know I can run the football."
The same can be said for Dillon, and he proved it in a quick way against the Steelers. He had 40 yards on six carries in the first quarter, scored on a 20-yard run in the second quarter in which he cut back through a hole left vacated by inside linebacker Earl Holmes and had 82 yards on nine carries by halftime.
For a while, it looked as if Taylor's 234 yards, which constituted a club record against the Steelers, might be eclipsed. So, too, might Dillon's NFL record of 278 yards rushing, set Oct. 22 against the Denver Broncos.
And he was doing it playing with a sore groin, which is why the Bengals were rotating second-year running back Brandon Bennett into the lineup. At times, it was difficult to tell the difference, particularly when Bennett ran 37 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown in the first quarter.
"They are a fast-flowing defense, and we saw that they tend to overpursue," Dillon said. "I just had to be patient and find a lane to run. I saw some opportunities to cut back and then cut it upfield."
It looked as if it would be more of the same in the second half, especially after Dillon carried seven times for 31 yards and scored on a nifty 4-yard run on the first possession of the third quarter. That touchdown cut the Steelers' lead to 24-21.
But, when the Bengals started falling further and further behind, Dillon became less of a factor. Still, the Bengals finished with 209 yards rushing, giving opponents 449 yards rushing the past two games against the Steelers.
"Right now, our run defense is the one thing we have to get rectified," Coach Bill Cowher said.
For a change, Cowher is more satisfied with the way the offense is performing than the defense, something that didn't seem possible just three weeks ago. Of course, he has never been dissatisifed with the running game, not with the way Bettis has run this season -- even if his critics don't always agree.
"Ultimately, the critics will never stop," Bettis said. "They just wait for you to have a bad year and they say you're done.
"I don't worry about it. I just keep doing the things I can do."
The Bus holds up for another 1,000 
E-mail this story 
