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Thursday, October 11, 2001

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Steelers (2-1) vs. Chiefs (1-3), 1 p.m. Sunday, Arrowhead Stadium. TV: KDKA. Radio: WDVE-FM (102.5), WBGG-AM (970).

Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier accomplished the rare feat of teammates rushing for 1,000 yards in the same season when they did it in 1976.

Amos Zereoue believes he and Jerome Bettis could do it this year.

"I don't see why not. It's a tough thing to do, but anything's possible in this league."

With 295 yards rushing, Bettis is on pace for 1,573. With 157, Zereoue is on pace for 837.

"Jerome was running the ball great the whole day," Zereoue said of Bettis' 153 yards rushing Sunday against the Bengals. "When you pound the ball like that all day, it keeps you off balance. When I come in, I'm a change of pace, and I come in with more speed, so it's tough for defenses to get acquainted with that."

One of Zereoue's carries came off a pitch from quarterback Kordell Stewart, an option-like play that has become rare in the NFL.

"It's tough, because you don't want to get your quarterback killed," Zereoue said. "That's the tough thing about running the option in this league."

Whoever is in charge of the stats at NFL.com must be sleeping. The league can't even get its own numbers right on its Web site. This week, NFL.comhas the Steelers ranked second on defense, yielding 242.7 yards a game. The Steelers, however, are really allowing 228.3 yards a game, and that ranks third in the NFL, not second, behind Baltimore and Green Bay.

Sunday will be the fifth time in the past six years the Steelers will play a game in Kansas City and the seventh consecutive time they will play there without the Chiefs playing in Pittsburgh. That ties the longest active streak in the NFL; Buffalo has visited Tampa Bay seven times in a row.

The only longer consecutive home games against one team without a return visit came when New England played in Pittsburgh nine consecutive times (1981-95) and Denver traveled to Buffalo nine times (1979-94).

The last time the Chiefs played in Pittsburgh was 1989.

Those kinds of rare streaks will end when the NFL puts its new scheduling format into play next season. The Chiefs, though, won't visit here until 2007.

SS Lee Flowers practiced yesterday and likely will be upgraded from questionable to probable. Flowers missed the game Sunday against Cincinnati with a slightly torn MCL in his left knee. Others held out of practice to let minor injuries heal were Jerome Bettis (knee), Jason Gildon (ankle) and Hines Ward (toe).

Steelers Coach Bill Cowher called Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez one of the best receiving tight ends in the league. Yesterday, Kansas City Coach Dick Vermeil called Mark Bruener one of the best blocking tight ends in the league.

Of course, the receiving tight ends dominate the pro bowls and are the ones who get the Hall of Fame votes. They also are the ones who keep defensive coordinators up nights thinking about how to cover them.

Tim Lewis is getting less sleep this week trying to find a way to stop the 6-foot-4, 248-pound Gonzalez, who leads the Chiefs with 23 receptions and lines up all over the place in their offense.

Flowers usually gets the job of covering the tight end.

"That's how it's supposed to work, but they move him around so much, I can't go everywhere he goes," he said.

"You can't match him on a linebacker because he's faster, and he's stronger than most safeties. He's their whole offense. [Quarterback] Trent Green has a lot of faith in him."