NOTEBOOK | STEELERS VS. COLTS

Stabbed: On Saturday Colts starting left cornerback Nick Harper, 31, was treated for a stab wound to the upper part of his left knee. According to Colts president Bill Polian, Harper was treated by team doctor Dr. Arthur Rettig for a wound that was 1 inch deep and a half-inch wide. Three stitches closed the wound and the joint wasn't affected.
View of the fumble: Steelers center Jeff Hartings was close to tailback Jerome Bettis when he fumbled on a first-and-goal play from the Colts 2 with 1:20 to go. "All I saw was the ball up in the air," Hartings said. [Being] in between [the ball and Harper] Hartings said he wondered "can I get the recovery or should I just tackle him? And I basically didn't do either." Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and tight end Jerame Tuman stopped Harper at the 42. Bettis said it's fortunate "because when you have your goal line people in there, you don't have your fastest people in there."
No retirement talk: With the AFC Championship Game in Denver next Sunday, Bettis said he's not thinking about anything else. "I'm thinking about next week, not next year," the 33-year-old future Hall of Famer said after rushing 17 times for 46 yards. Bettis said he was preparing for overtime when Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt missed a 46-yard attempt. "I wasn't down or anything," Bettis said. "I was just getting ready to go, assuming that Vanderjagt is going to make that field goal. When I saw it go wide right, it was incredible." Vanderjagt said he made all of his kicks during warmup. "I made everything all week. I'm somewhat in shock that I am standing here after a missed field goal. I'm not sure what happened. As bad as we played, we still had a chance to tie it in the end and that's what I'm here for."
Change: In the Steelers' 26-7 loss here on Nov. 28, the Colts defense shut down the Steelers offense, especially the running game. Coach Bill Cowher suggested that perhaps his staff erred in that game by relying on the run too much. In Sunday's playoff game, Roethlisberger competed seven of his first eight passes. "They stuffed our running game the last time pretty well," said tight end Heath Miller whose had the Steelers' first reception for a 36-yard gain. "So we wanted to hit a couple of passes that we thought would work early on." Miller, Hines Ward, Randle El and Willie Parker each caught three passes, with Ward's 68 yards the most.
Colts offense: Running back Edgerrin James ran 13 times for 56 yards. "I don't know what happened. I came ready to play. Everything was laid out for us -- we just didn't get it done." Reggie Wayne was the Colts top receiver, with seven receptions for 97 yards. Marvin Harrison caught three for 52.
Tom Williams