Restoring team's confidence was Bill Cowher's objective

Avoiding turnovers was important in Pittsburgh's win over Chicago.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
PITTSBURGH -- A three-game losing that had reduced the Steelers from division contenders to desperation had walloped away the swagger produced by 2004's 15-1 regular season record.
That's why coach Bill Cowher chose to focus on restoring his team's confidence in preparing for Sunday's showdown with the Bears.
"We talked a lot about confidence [Saturday] night," said Cowher after the Steelers defeated the Bears 21-9 at Heinz Field. "State of mind, being certain and having trust -- that's the definition [of confidence]. State of mind is a choice. These guys had a choice to make today."
Recent games
Three weeks ago, the Steelers lost 16-13 in overtime to the Ravens, then were blown out by the unbeaten Colts (26-7) in Indianapolis. With the AFC North Division title at stake last Sunday, the Steelers committed four turnovers in a 38-31 loss to the Bengals.
Against the Bears, who were riding an eight-game winning streak, the Steelers resuscitated their running game to hand Chicago its first defeat in two months.
"We're a desperate football team and we're going to play like it for the rest of the season," said Jerome Bettis, who rushed for 101 yards. "Hopefully that will give us that sense of urgency that we've been missing."
Bettis said the Steelers (8-5) are aware of the slippery slope their five AFC losses have placed them.
"We can't afford to lose any games," said Bettis after the team's best all-around game of the season.
And because the next carry could be the last for the 33-year-old veteran, Bettis said he feels the urgency more than most.
Sense of desperation
"Whenever you go into a situation where it could be your last play, there's a sense of desperation. I definitely feel it," Bettis said.
The Steelers weren't unhappy to see snowflakes.
"The running game is the best thing you've got going once it starts snowing like that," guard Alan Faneca said.
The Steelers limited the Bears to 83 yards on 18 tries.
On the other side, Parker carried 21 times for 68 yards, but his spotlight moment came on the Steelers' second play as he caught a screen pass and ran for 45 yards.
"Willie freed up the [running] game with the screen," tackle Max Starks said.
That early success helped restore the confidence the Steelers haven't felt in a month.
"We didn't run the ball well in the previous three games," said wide receiver Hines Ward, who caught three passes for 27 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown. "We put ourselves behind the eight ball. When Coach Cowher is talking about desperation, he's talking about leaving it all out on the field and never look back. Today we did that."
Roethlisberger said defeating a quality opponent like the Bears (9-4) brought back some of the confidence when they advanced to the AFC Championship game last Sunday.
Getting swagger back
"We don't quite have the swagger that we had at the end of last year, but we're getting it back and we felt that it kicked in relatively early," Roethlisberger said. "To hold them and we go down and score -- that really gets your confidence going."
Linebacker Joey Porter questioned just how shaken the team was during the losing streak.
"We never really lost our confidence -- we just weren't playing good football," Porter said. "When you have four turnovers and don't get any on defense, you're asking a whole lot of the team to win. Today, we didn't turn it over.
"That was the most complete game we've played so far this year," Porter said. "We played consistent across the board. We finally hit on all cylinders."
williams@vindy.com