STEELERS Still the champs until unseated
Pittsburgh broke tradition by assigning a cornerback to cover Chad Johnson.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Only a week ago the Pittsburgh Steelers were recoiling, trying to explain some mysterious coaching decisions by Bill Cowher and some inexplicable passes by Tommy Maddox during an unexpected home-field overtime loss to Jacksonville.
Now, after returning to the kind of blue-collar game they've preferred for years, the Steelers think the AFC North is theirs to win again. Even if the standings don't say so quite yet.
"You have to understand that we're the champions until proven otherwise," Joey Porter said after a turnaround 27-13 victory Sunday at AFC North leader Cincinnati all but made up for that Jaguars loss.
Got defensive
The Steelers' mind-set going into what quarterback Ben Roethlisberger called "our biggest challenge of the year" was illustrated by the "This Is Our Division" sign displayed last week on their locker room bulletin board.
The Steelers (4-2) still trail the Bengals (5-2), but the victory was effectively worth two games in the division standings.
Rather than being down by 21/2 games, as they would have with a loss, the Steelers trail by only a half-game with 10 games to play.
It's a much different position than they were in after that 23-17 overtime loss to Jacksonville, which was marred by four Maddox turnovers, a breakdown of their running game and game-long disarray on offense and defense.
"We felt it was just business as usual on the offensive line," right tackle Max Starks said after the Steelers ran for 221 yards against Cincinnati. "We wanted to keep the quarterback safe and get the running back a hole."
Line was concern
The offensive line had been a subject of concern for several weeks after sending three of five starters to the Pro Bowl last season.
Right guard Kendall Simmons looked rusty after sitting out last season with a knee injury, Starks struggled at times in pass protection and even All-Pro guard Alan Faneca acknowledged playing several below-average games.
"We're not performing to the level of expectations we have for our football team," coach Bill Cowher said last week, effectively including himself in that group.
Cowher second-guessed himself for not pulling the error-prone Maddox for backup Charlie Batch against Jacksonville and not playing running back Jerome Bettis in the second half following a big game the week before against San Diego.
None of those issues mattered Sunday as Maddox never got off the bench, Willie Parker gained 131 yards in his first 100-yard game since Sept. 18 and Bettis again played a key role with 13 carries for 56 yards.
Tight coverage
The Steelers also got an excellent performance from cornerback Ike Taylor, who followed Bengals receiver Chad Johnson wherever he went on either side of the ball.
Johnson made four catches for 94 yards, but half his yardage came on a 47-yard reception with 2:25 remaining and the Steelers up 27-6.
Traditionally, the Steelers never assign a cornerback to shadow a receiver, but they changed their strategy after starting cornerback Deshea Townsend injured a hamstring against Jacksonville. The idea was to prevent Johnson was being matched constantly against backup cornerbacks Willie Williams and rookie Bryant McFadden.
Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau also made sure Taylor got plenty of backup support from safeties Troy Polamalu and Chris Hope, and Townsend also played despite being listed as doubtful as late as Friday.
"Ike did a good job, and I also thought Bryant McFadden played a really solid game," Cowher said.
Notes
Because the Steelers don't play again until Monday against Baltimore (2-4), Cowher gave his players an extra day off Monday.
The Steelers last played a Monday night home game on Oct. 21, 2002, beating the Colts 28-10.
After the Monday game, the Steelers play three of their four November games on the road, at Green Bay, Baltimore and Indianapolis. The only home game next month is Nov. 13 against Cleveland.
The Bengals-Steelers rematch in Pittsburgh is Dec. 11.
The Steelers have won their last four and six of seven in Cincinnati, but have dropped their last two at home to New England and Jacksonville. They were 8-0 at home last season.
The Bengals have played one more game than Pittsburgh because their open week doesn't come until Nov. 13.