Steelers pick up much-needed win
PITTSBURGH – The Steelers needed a strong outing Sunday against Carolina for themselves, as much as for their fans or to prove anything to the rest of the league. They got what they needed with a 30-14 win over the Panthers that, coupled with Cleveland’s loss to Indianapolis, puts Pittsburgh a game and a half ahead of the Browns and Baltimore Ravens with two games to play.
The Steelers’ offense put up three touchdowns, and Jeff Reed added three field goals, while the defense followed up a tremendous outing against Houston by allowing only 131 total yards and registering six sacks.
As the players have said all along, Pittsburgh controls its destiny. The Steelers are 8-5-1, with games remaining at Tampa Bay next Monday and at home against the Ravens on Dec. 29. Cleveland and Baltimore are 7-7.
“It was fun,” running back Jerome Bettis said. “We needed to put this team away and we were able to do that.”
Bettis ran for 73 yards and scored two touchdowns, but the real stars of this show were quarterback Tommy Maddox and receiver Plaxico Burress. Both players were bouncing back from horrible games a week ago.
“Tommy told me last week that he wished we could have played on Wednesday,” Burress said. “We had a good week of practice and that helped us put last week out of our minds.”
Burress caught six passes for 120 yards and a game-opening touchdown. Maddox completed 20 of 33 passes for 209 yards and the touchdown to Burress.
“During the week, I felt a little bit of that,” Maddox said when asked if he felt pressure from last week’s game to perform better Sunday. “But by Friday, I had to get that out of my head and focus on this game. I was anxious to get back out there and enjoy a game.”
Maddox got the Steelers on the scoreboard with a near-perfect first possession. He capped the 9-play, 77-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Burress and the Steelers led, 7-0. Maddox converted two third downs, both on passes to Burress. Maddox also made a positive out of a negative when he recovered a bad pitch to Bettis and passed to Antwaan Randle El for a 5-yard gain.
After Hank Poteat fumbled a Carolina punt that was recovered by Emmanuel McDaniel, Pittsburgh’s defense flexed its muscle and drove the Panthers back 11 yards and the Steelers’ offense took over at their own 36-yard line.
Burress slipped and fell with a Maddox pass in the air and Carolina’s Mike Minter intercepted. Minter returned the pick 62 yards to the Steelers’ 4-yard line, where a hustling Burress made the tackle.
“I thought Tommy played really well,” coach Bill Cowher said of Maddox. “When Plex fell coming out of his break, you start to wonder if things are just going against you, but that was a good throw. Plex was going to be open. I thought he made good decisions all day. He made some big third down throws early and they did a good job.”
“That’s the Tommy we’re used to,” receiver Hines Ward said.
Carolina converted the opportunity when Rodney Peete passed to Dee Brown for a 6-yard touchdown to tie the score with 2:40 remaining in the first quarter.
Pittsburgh reclaimed the lead when Reed connected on a 36-yard field goal with 12:14 remaining in the second quarter. Maddox converted a third-and-17 with a 31-yard pass to Burress. The dive covered 56 yards in 12 plays.
Chris Weinke replaced Peete at quarterback for the Panthers, who said Peete was “shaken up.” The result, after sacks by Kendrell Bell and Rodney Bailey, was a Todd Sauerbrun punt out of the end zone.
Reed then bounced in a 41-yard field goal to cap a 9-play, 24-yard drive and extend Pittsburgh’s lead to 13-7. Reed’s kick hit the right upright and bounced over the cross bar. Bettis converted a fourth-and-1 with a 3-yard run.
Brent Alexander intercepted a Weinke pass intended for Steve Smith to give Pittsburgh possession at the Carolina 48-yard line. Pittsburgh couldn’t move the ball and Josh Miller dropped a punt at the Carolina 9-yard line.
The Steelers defense was its dominating self in the first half. Pittsburgh limited Carolina’s offense to no yards of offense and two first downs.
Peete returned in the second half for Carolina, but the results were only marginally better. The Panthers managed to gain 8 yards, but couldn’t get a first down on their first possession.
Rookie Brett Keisel recovered a gift fumble on a punt return by Smith, who simply dropped the ball at the Steelers’ 18-yard line. Jerome Bettis capped the short drive with a 9-yard touchdown run on which he appeared to injure his left knee. His TD run extended Pittsburgh’s lead to 20-7 with 6:51 remaining in the third quarter.
Carolina finally mounted a drive late in the third quarter that carried into the fourth. An apparent touchdown pass from Peete to Smith was challenged by Cowher and overturned. On the next play, Dee Brown was ruled down at the 1-yard line, but Panthers coach John Fox challenged, but did not get the play overturned. Peete leaped over for the touchdown on the next play, but Cowher challenged that play and won, setting a third-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line. Brown scored from there to slice Pittsburgh lead to six, 20-14, with 13:28 remaining.
Carolina’s drive carried 74 yards on nine plays, by far the Panthers best offensive showing of the day. It also got the Panthers back into the game.
Carolina’s defense seemed to respond, but on third-and-11, Maddox hooked up with Burress for a 47-yard gain, then he passed to Amos Zereoue for a 10-yard gain. Bettis returned to gain five to the Carolina 18-yard line and Zereoue ran it to the 6 for a first-and-goal.
“Plex made a great adjustment on that ball,” Ward said. “The wind was a factor the whole game and it definitely affected that ball. It was time for a big play and Plex made one right there. They were starting to get back into the game and we needed to make a play.”
“Once I saw the safety plant his foot, I knew Plex would have a chance to make a play,” Maddox said. “I had to just put it up there and let him go get it. He made a great adjustment on the ball. He ran right by the safety and a great play to go and get the ball.”
Pittsburgh couldn’t get the touchdown, however, and settled for Reed’s third field goal, a 23-yarder that made it 23-14 with 7:11 remaining.
The Steelers’ defense took over from there, with a sack by Casey Hampton, a screen pass for a loss of four, then a Jason Gildon sack that caused a fumble. Aaron Smith recovered for the Steelers. Fox challenged, but lost and the Steelers took over at Carolina’s 15-yard line.
Bettis made the Panthers pay with his second touchdown of the game, from 8 yards out, to make it 30-14 with 4:12 remaining.