Steelers inefficient, get rammed at Heinz

& lt;a href=mailto:mollica@vindy.com & gt;By PETE MOLLICA & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers played the 1,000th game in their history Sunday afternoon, but the St. Louis Rams were the ones celebrating at the end.
Behind the arm of Pittsburgh native Marc Bulger, the Rams spoiled the Steelers' anniversary with a 33-21 defeat before 62,665 at Heinz Field.
Bulger, who played high school football at Pittsburgh Central Catholic, passed for 375 yards and a touchdown, completing 22-of-37 in a steady rain.
"It's not about where I'm from, it's about our team winning on the road. We beat a good team in a tough environment," said Bulger. "It's a relief, because we know how hard it is to win on the road. If you can win in a tough place like Pittsburgh, you know you can win on the road."
Bottom line
The Steelers, who hung with the Rams for most of three quarters, couldn't make the plays in the end when they needed them.
Pittsburgh was just 1-of-10 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth down tries, and they didn't convert the one third-down situation until the waning moments of the contest.
Jeff Wilkins helped the Rams attack, converting 2-of-3 three field goals and 3-for-3 extra point conversions.
Steelers coach Bill Cowher was not happy.
"I don't have much to say," he said. "We could not make some plays and when they had a chance to they came down and made the plays.
"We fell short and it's very disappointing," added Cowher. "Like I told the players the only answer I have is that we have to keep working. We need to find a way to put together a complete game, not a spurt of plays here or there. They're playing hard, but we are just not playing efficient football or playing consistently."
But it came down to the Steelers not being able to convert on third down and the Rams did.
"If we're losing on third down and the offense is losing on third down, you don't give yourself a chance to win the game," said Steelers linebacker Joey Porter.
"When the offense converts it gives them a chance to score and when the defense holds it gets the offense back on the field. We lost the third-down battle today," Porter said.
The Rams scored first in the opening period with a 48-yard pass from Bulger to wide receiver Torry Holt getting them in position. Bulger and Holt combined seven times for 174 yards and a touchdown.
Beat secondary
The touchdown came four plays later when Bulger hit Holt, who beat the Steelers secondary with a 36-yard strike.
The Rams had a chance to go up 10-0, but Wilkins was wide left on a 47-yard field goal attempt.
"I really hit it good, but just pulled it a little," Wilkins said. "I would have been upset if I hadn't hit it so well."
Pittsburgh got on the board near the end of the first period thanks to Antwaan Randle El, who returned a Rams' punt 84 yards.
St. Louis regained the lead with an 89-yard drive in eight plays, with Bulger connecting four times in the drive, which was completed by a 1-yard touchdown run by third-string tailback Arlen Harris, who was making his first career start.
Tommy Maddox, who had an off day at quarterback, got the Steelers rolling by hitting flanker Hines Ward with a 45-yard pass and then throwing to him again for 6 yards and the touchdown, which tied the score at 14.
Maddox was 12-of-28 for 159 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions and was sacked twice.
St. Louis, with the help of a couple of penalties, took the lead at intermission when Wilkins completed a 71-yard march with a 20-yard field goal after the Rams were unable to score from a first-and-goal at the 1.
Steelers go up
Wilkins added a 22-yard field goal after Jamie Duncan intercepted Maddox at the Steelers 30-yard line, but the Steelers battled back to take their only lead of the contest with a score with 6:51 remaining in the third period.
Randle El took a direct snap and raced 32 yards on the first play and then Maddox hit Dan Kreider for 15 yards and finally found Hines in the end zone from 22 yards out for the score and a 21-20 lead.
But Bulger brought the Rams right back, hitting four straight passes, the final one for 30 yards to Brandon Manumaleuna to the Steelers 13. From there it took Harris two carries to score on a 9-yard run.
The Rams put the game away midway through the final period, driving to the Steelers' 20. They called on Wilkins, who connected on a 38-yard field goal, but the Steelers were called for holding, giving the Rams a first down at the 15.
Three plays later Harris scored his third touchdown on a 9-yard run.
& lt;a href=mailto:mollica@vindy.com & gt;mollica@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;