The Steelers increased their Central Division lead to one game over the Browns.

The Steelers increased their Central Division lead to one game over the Browns.
By ROB TODOR
VINDICATOR SPORTS EDITOR
PITTSBURGH -- The Steelers may have a new home, but Monday night they beat the Tennessee Titans the old-fashioned way: They punched them in the mouth.
Not literally, of course ... well, there were probably a few exchanged (this was two AFC Central teams, after all), but the shots that counted the most were nearly all delivered by the Black and Gold.
"Every bounce we seemed to get," said Steelers coach Bill Cowher. "It's probably the most complete game that we played this year."
Pittsburgh's 34-7 victory pushed its lead in the division to one game over Cleveland and sunk the Titans deeper into the basement.
"It was electric, it really was," said Cowher. "Our fans are special fans; they appreciate hard-nosed football and we are playing solid football."
Took control early: The Steelers took the lead by scoring on their first possession of the game, took control by limiting Tennessee's running game, and took advantage of a porous Tennessee defense.
"I think we had a number of players that gained their confidence and stepped up and made big plays," said tight end Mark Bruener.
Pittsburgh's receivers stole the spotlight. Hines Ward made two catches for 20 yards and, with one rush (on a direct snap, no less) for 36 yards, was his team's second-leading rusher.
And Plaxico Burress measured a career-high 151 yards on six receptions. The second-year pro from Michigan State, finally showing some glimpse of the potential which made him a first-round pick, continually took advantage of severe height advantages against Tennessee's secondary.
"I know everybody's been waiting for those two [quarterback Kordell Stewart and Burress] to connect," said Ward. "Plaxico bailed Kordell out a couple times on underthrown balls and made some big plays. That's what we drafted him for."
Burress didn't score any touchdowns, but set up two with long receptions, including one on a circus catch when he out-dueled the Titans' Samari Rolle for the ball.
"The coaches have told me if I can't catch it to come back and knock it down," said Burress. "My arms hit his arms and the ball just popped up and I was like, 'I got a present.' "
Bettis scores twice: Jerome Bettis failed to gain 100 yards for only the second time in 10 career Monday night games -- he finished with 62 on 19 carries -- but he scored a pair of touchdowns. The Titans made a concerted effort to stop The Bus, and while they were successful in that regard it opened up the passing game.
"They put eight guys, nine guys sometimes in the box," said Ward, "and Kordell threw it up there for us to make some plays."
By contrast, the Titans' Eddie George managed just 13 yards on 10 carries. As a team, Tennessee rushed for just 57 yards.
"It's very frustrating right now," said George. "Every time I go out there something's tweaking or something gets injured again.
"You try to jump start the running game and -- you've heard that old saying, 'When it rains it pours' -- well right now we're in the middle of a hurricane."
Pittsburgh took the opening kickoff and moved smartly downfield, consuming 10 plays and 6 minutes, 23 seconds. Stewart completed 3-of-4 passes for 41 yards on the march and Bettis finished it off with a 1-yard run at 8:37 of the first quarter. The drive was aided by two offsides penalties on Tennessee, including one by Jerome Kearse that negated a third down sack.
The Steelers' Jason Gildon then forced and recovered a fumble by George, but Pittsburgh couldn't pick up a first down and Kris Brown's 48-yard field goal attempt was wide to the left.
Game tied early: The Titans followed with a 10-play, 62-yard drive to tie the score, achieved when quarterback Steve McNair found tight end Frank Wycheck in the back of the end zone on third down and goal from the 4.
The Steelers took the lead for good on a six play, 36-yard push following Brent Alexander's first interception of the season. On first and goal from the 3, Stewart rolled to the right and found Hines, who came across the field, in the front corner of the end zone with 5:56 remaining until halftime.
Pittsburgh took a 17-7 lead 28 seconds before the intermission on a 42-yard field goal by Brown. The 11-play, 39-yard drive was highlighted by a fake field goal in which Brown ran 6 yards for a first down. He appeared to step out of bounds before reaching the yard stick, but the on-field ruling was upheld by replay.
The Steelers made it 27-7 on a 7-yard run by Bettis at the 10:18 mark of the third quarter and a 27-yard field goal by Brown with 1:42 remaining.
Pittsburgh made it 34-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter, a 2-yard run by Stewart.
todor@vindy.com