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Monday, December 03, 2001

Compiled by Ed Bouchette and Dejan Kovacevic

Steelers (9-2) vs. New York Jets (7-4), 4:15 p.m. Sunday, Heinz Field. TV, radio: KDKA; WDVE-FM (102.5), WBGG-AM (970). The Steelers are 13-1 all-time against the Jets, their most dominating record against any NFL opponent, and won the most recent meeting, 20-3, Oct. 8, 2000, in East Rutherford, N.J.

Jerome Bettis, Steelers RB, left in the third quarter because of an aggravated left hip injury and did not return. Coach Bill Cowher said he expects Bettis to be able to play next week and made it clear the injury is not serious.

Kendrick Clancy, Steelers NT, left in the second quarter because of a knee contusion but returned.

Daunte Culpepper, Vikings QB, left in the fourth quarter because of stiffness in his strained left knee. Coach Dennis Green said he noticed Culpepper slowed down after halftime and replaced him with Todd Bouman with 12:46 left. Culpepper should return next week.

The Steelers deactivated TE Mark Bruener (shoulder), G Rich Tylski (high ankle), CB Jason Simmons (hamstring), C Chukky Okobi, OT Mathias Nkwenti, LB Justin Kurpeikis, DE Chris Combs and DT Chris Hoke. The Vikings played without FB Jim Kleinsasser (ankle), G Calvin Collins (calf), G David Dixon (calf), DE Jeff Hazuga (shoulder), WR Troy Walters, OT Brian Crawford, DT Winfield Garnett and DT Shawn Worthen.

Mike Mularkey, the Steelers' offensive coordinator, pulled a couple more tricks from his offensive hat. As it turned out, the trickiest was an old one. The Steelers tried a reverse, toss-back to QB Kordell Stewart that did not work, losing 5 yards and helping stall a promising first drive. The next one fared better. On a first-down play in the second quarter, Stewart walked out of the pocket and held his hands up as if to shout signals to his receivers. He was walking that way, around the right tackle, when C Jeff Hartings snapped the ball directly to RB Jerome Bettis, who ran 7 yards. That play was suggested by assistant coach Dick Hoak, who told Mularkey the Steelers used it years ago. Hoak played from 1961-70 for the Steelers and joined their staff in 1972. "It's starting to rub off on him," Mularkey said.

Steelers Coach Bill Cowher challenged two calls by officials and lost both times, once inadvertently taking a touchdown off the board. In the second quarter, Stewart ran 21 yards, but his knee hit the ground at the 1 just before he stretched the ball into the end zone. The officials put the ball on the 1. The Steelers lined up for the next play, and Bettis scored. But the officials negated that because they had received Cowher's challenge just before the ball was snapped. That negated Bettis' touchdown, but he bailed out everyone by scoring on the next play. Cowher also challenged that Vikings RB Michael Bennett had stepped out of bounds on his 80-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. "Both of those calls that I challenged, I was going on gut instinct," Cowher said. "I should have known, as today went, that they weren't very good instincts."

RB Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala was as surprised as anyone that he replaced injured Bettis in the third quarter rather than Amos Zereoue, who has backed up Bettis all season. "It's usually J.B. and Amos in practice. I was happy they called my number." Fuamatu-Ma'afala's 46-yard run on third down with 1:30 left sealed the victory. It was the longest run of his three-year NFL career. His 74 yards rushing and 12 attempts also were career highs. He had his best season last year, running 21 times for 149 yards before a season-ending injury Oct. 22.

It took QB Todd Bouman, the Vikings' backup, less than a quarter to produce more offense than starter Daunte Culpepper had managed through three. Culpepper, removed by Coach Dennis Green because of stiffness in his strained left knee early in the fourth, was 12 of 17 for 140 yards, no pass longer than 27 yards. Bouman, a fourth-year professional making only his second appearance in an NFL game, was 11 of 15 for 200 yards. Included in that total were an 80-yard screen pass to Bennett and a 12-yard toss to WR Randy Moss for touchdowns. "You've just got to go in there and make plays. That's what a backup does," Bouman said. "I've been around here long enough to know what the offense is all about."

Minnesota's primary wide receivers, Moss and Cris Carter, appeared to be picking on Steelers CB Chad Scott all afternoon. But Carter, one of the NFL's most outspoken players insisted that wasn't the case. "No, we liked our matchups to either side. To be honest, we felt we could throw the ball on them."

RB Jerome Bettis topped 1,000 rushing yards for the eighth time in his career, his sixth in a row with the Steelers. He reached the mark on his first run. "It's good to get it out of the way on the first play so you don't have to worry about it," Bettis said. He said reaching 1,000 yards as often as he has "shows the durability, consistency and reliability to get it done every day. The yardage really is not important at this stage of my career. We have someplace to go and, until we get there, I'm not happy." Bettis needs two more 1,000-yard seasons to pass Franco Harris on the team's all-time list in that category. The team record for most yards in a season, 1,690 by Barry Foster in 1992, is somewhat within sight, with five games remaining and Bettis at 1,072.

FS Brent Alexander had two interceptions in a game for the first time in his eight-year NFL career. He tied CB Chad Scott for the team lead with four this season.

QB Kordell Stewart's string of 159 consecutive passes without an interception ended in the first quarter when Vikings SS Robert Griffith picked him off.

Through the first 10 games, the Steelers' offensive line had only one holding penalty. Yesterday, it had three, one each by G Oliver Ross, C Jeff Hartings and OT Marvel Smith.

The Steelers are 9-2 for the first time since 1983.

The Vikings have lost eight in a row on the road since winning at Dallas, 27-15, on Thanksgiving 2000.

The Steelers, leading the league with 41 sacks, were shut out for the first time this season.

FB Jon Witman had his first two carries of the season. The first went 14 yards, the second 2.

Joey Porter, Steelers LB, was impressed with the crowd noise at Heinz Field, especially when fans roared as the Vikings lined up for their final series near the North end zone: "That's the loudest I've ever been part of since I've been in football. It definitely helped. It has that extra energy. Everyone was fired up and didn't want to get beat."

Bill Cowher's eyes moistened as he talked about winning his 100th game as the Steelers' coach. It had little to do with the number and everything to do with his wife, Kaye.

"She and I have been through so much. It's special when I reflect back on all the things that we've been through, and she's a big part of why I'm still sitting here today. She's a friend and a tremendous s oulmate of mine. We'll sit down tonight and we'll have a drink and we'll talk about it."

Cowher raised his record to 100-66, including 5-6 in the postseason. He tied Dennis Green for sixth among active coaches, while Green took his 67th loss to go with 100 victories.

"This is not about Bill Cowher," Cowher said of No. 100. "This is about this football team this year. ... I'm like the rest of this football team. We're all going to take an unselfish approach to this thing."