James answers challenges

The Steelers' run defense is the Colts back's next test.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Edgerrin James welcomes challenges.
After analysts questioned the Indianapolis Colts picking him over Ricky Williams in the 1999 NFL draft, James produced back-to-back rushing titles.
After tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, James reclaimed his Pro Bowl form.
After teams spurned the chance to trade for him for less than a first-round pick this offseason, James has responded with an AFC-high 1,116 yards rushing.
So what's one more test against Pittsburgh's stout run defense? Another chance for James to prove himself.
"Everybody talks about how teams are dropping eight guys back, but I've just been balling," James said.
With Peyton Manning's uncanny ability to dissect defenses, two of the AFC's top three receptions leaders and the NFL's highest-scoring offense, it's easy to see how James can become an afterthought outside Indy.
Last of unbeatens
That's not the case for the Colts (10-0) or Steelers. James has given the Colts' potent offense balance, power, consistency and the underrated ability to block blitzers -- all essential ingredients if Indianapolis is to remain the NFL's last unbeaten team Monday night against Pittsburgh (7-3).
"He's running as well as I've seen in recent years," Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher said of James. "He gives them an element in the running game that you have to honor."
On paper, it is a classic matchup: The NFL's No. 3 run defense against a resurgent James, who has seven 100-yard games this season and 10 touchdowns in the last six weeks. Pittsburgh has gone 22 games without allowing a 100-yard rusher.
But the head-to-head matchups are evident everywhere.
This game will pit two of the league's most resilient teams: Pittsburgh wants to avoid its first two-game losing streak since the middle of 2003, a stretch of 36 games, while the Colts have won 18 of their last 19 regular-season games. Indy's one loss came at Denver when coach Tony Dungy rested his starters in last year's finale.
It also has playoff implications.
High stakes
The Steelers are tied with Cincinnati for the AFC North lead and need a victory to stay in contention for a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Indianapolis is trying to become only the fifth NFL team since 1978 to start 11-0 and is looking to capture another key head-to-head tiebreaker.
And then there are the inevitable comparisons between the Colts' offense and the Steelers' defense.
Manning & amp; Co. have topped 30 points in five straight games and 40 points in three of those games. The Steelers, however, have not allowed more than 23 points in a game all season and have limited opponents to fewer than 20 in six of 10 games.
"When you think about Pittsburgh, you've got to think of that defense," Manning said. "Whoever they have in there flies to football. This will be one of the toughest challenges we'll have all season."
The Steelers had a franchise record 11-game road winning streak snapped last week at Baltimore and hope to get a boost from the expected return of Ben Roethlisberger.
Big Ben recovers
Roethlisberger is 18-1 as a starter and hasn't lost to a team other than the New England Patriots, but has missed the last three games after having knee surgery. Roethlisberger acknowledges he may not be himself right away.
"You're always going to be a little rusty after something like that," he said. "You can't simulate game speed. It's a matter of how quickly you knock it off."
So Pittsburgh will likely rely on its usual overpowering ground game, a formula that could keep the high-scoring Colts off the field and wear down Indy's undersized defense.
The Steelers naturally are concerned about Manning, who has thrown 18 TD passes in the last seven games, and Marvin Harrison, who needs 149 yards to join the 12,000-yard club. Reggie Wayne has emerged as a dangerous threat, and last week Manning exploited the middle of the field with Dallas Clark and Brandon Stokley.
But James' presence confounds matters.
"With this offense, it's hard to pinpoint any one point to take away," Cowher said. "You could take the running game out, but that opens yourself up for big plays down the field. So you've got to be very careful."
That's the kind of pressure the Colts, especially James, like to put on opponents.
"What the defenses are doing is something like being hurt. It's something that I can't control," James said. "Right now, I'm just playing, doing what I've got to do."
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