Steelers' mistakescostly in 24-6 loss

Pittsburgh outgained Houston 422-47 and still lost to the expansion team.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
PITTSBURGH -- In tune to the spirit of the season, the Steelers distributed giveaways by the bagful Sunday to many of their NFL brethren.
Playing Santa Claus was Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox, whose two first quarter mistakes led to the expansion Houston Texans' 24-6 upset at Heinz Field.
A fumbled punt by Antwaan Randle El and a second Maddox interception returned for a touchdown in the final quarter struck a tremendous blow to the Steelers' hopes for a playoff bye.
"We thought this was a game where we could possibly get some takeaways and fortunately we were able to get five of them," Texans coach Dom Capers said, "and three were for touchdowns."
Instead of contending for and worrying about home-field advantage over the next three weeks, the Steelers are back in a dogfight just to make the postseason. Pittsburgh's loss, combined with Cleveland's last-second victory, has the Browns (7-6) once again just a half-game behind the Steelers (7-5-1) in the AFC North.
"We can't control what other people do in our division -- it really comes down to what we do," said wide receiver Hines Ward, who caught nine passes for 76 yards but was called for holding to wipe out a Amos Zereoue run to the Houston 1 when the Steelers trailed by eight points.
Five turnovers
The Steelers' three fumbles and two pickoffs had Steelers coach Bill Cowher biting back on his words.
"We didn't just turn it over -- they scored when we did," said Cowher, referring to the two touchdowns cornerback Aaron Glenn scored on interceptions and cornerback Kenny Wright's fumble return.
"We self-destructed," Cowher said after the Steelers outgained the Texans 422-47, but could only produce two Jeff Reed field goals.
Houston (4-9) produced just three first downs and two of them came on their first series. Rookie quarterback David Carr completed just three passes, all to tight end Billy Miller for 33 yards.
The Texans ground game produced 37 yards on 26 carries.
"I don't think you could ask for a better performance by the defense," Cowher said.
Citing dropped balls, pre-snap penalties creating long-yardage situations and the interceptions, Cowher said, "We couldn't overcome ourselves."
Maddox completed 30 of a team-record 57 passes for 325 yards in his first action since he was temporarily paralyzed three weeks ago. Maddox also was sacked six times for 32 yards.
Maddox takes blame
"They scored 24 points and I gave them 21 of them," Maddox said. "You can put [the blame] on my shoulders."
After stopping the Texans' first drive, the Steelers moved the ball toward midfield when Maddox, carrying the ball far from his body, dropped it while scrambling for the sidelines. Wright picked it up and raced for the easy score.
"I was just trying to beat their safety and get down on the ground because I couldn't beat him to the sideline," Maddox said. "I was trying to be smart with it and ended up giving them a touchdown."
Moments later, the Steelers' deficit doubled when Glenn grabbed a pass intended for Plaxico Burress and ran 70 yards.
"[Glenn] jumped the coverage and Tommy forced it in there," Cowher said.
Asked to assess Maddox's performance, Cowher responded, "It wasn't very good."
Trailing 14-6 late in the game, the Steelers forced a punt that Randle El mishandled at the Pittsburgh 20. Troy Evans' recovery set up former Steeler Kris Brown's 43-yard field goal.
Trailing by two scores, Maddox's fourth down pass was stolen by Glenn, who raced 65 yards for the final points.
Misjudged pass
Maddox wasn't the only Steeler to struggle. Early in the fourth quarter, Burress couldn't handle a Maddox pass at the Houston 2.
"I misjudged it a little bit," Burress said. "I was expecting it be a little long and it kind of shot across my face. It was faster than I thought it was."
Cowher said his team can overcome the psychological blow that comes when a playoff contender loses at home to an expansion team.
"Sure we can -- we have no choice," Cowher said.
williams@vindy.com