Foxsports: Retro Steelers hold off Raider comeback

[1niksder]

Alan Robinson / Associated Press
Posted: 1 hour ago



PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Steelers brought the Bus out of the garage and showed off their new Duce coupe.

The Steelers returned to their roots - a strong running game and creative pressure defense - to open an early two-touchdown lead, then held off several Oakland comebacks to win 24-21 Sunday on Jeff Reed's 42-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining.
The Raiders (0-1) showed off plenty of new, including coach Norv Turner, big defensive linemen Warren Sapp and Ted Washington and an offensive scheme redesigned to cover up their lack of playmakers. But the Steelers (2-0) won the traditional AFC rivalry by going retro.

Bettis, relegated to the bench behind Duce Staley despite being the No. 6 rusher in NFL history, was used only in goal-line situations but scored a career high-tying three touchdowns - all on 1-yard runs. He had more touchdowns (3) than yards rushing (1), as Staley, the former Eagles 1,000-yard rusher, did most of the damage with 91 yards in his Pittsburgh debut.

The Steelers led 14-0 and 21-10, but the Raiders tied it on Alvis Whitted's fingertip catch of Rich Gannon's 38-yard touchdown pass and Gannon's 2-point conversion pass to an uncovered Whitted with 4:51 remaining.

But the Oakland offense never got the ball back. Maddox hit Ward for 15 and 11 yards and Jay Riemersma for 12 on a decisive drive that started at the Steelers' 22 and ended with Reed's field goal.

Coach Bill Cowher was determined to get back to the Steelers' traditional strengths, their running game and a big-play defense, after experimenting during last year's 6-10 season with a pass-heavy offense and a passive defense designed to allow few big plays.

The plan worked perfectly for much of the first half. The Steelers kept the ball for 8{ minutes on a game-opening 67-yard drive that featured Staley running behind left guard Alan Faneca and Bettis' 1-yard scoring run.

Not long after that, linebacker Clark Haggans forced a Gannon fumble that Aaron Smith returned 49 yards to the Raiders' 20, and Staley carried three times to set up Bettis' second scoring run early in the second quarter.

Easy? Not quite.

The Raiders spent most of the first half going nowhere, reminiscent of their 27-7 loss in Pittsburgh late in last year's 4-12 season - the worst record by a team that went to the Super Bowl the season before.

But Gannon's pump fake fooled safety Troy Polamalu on a 58-yard scoring pass to Doug Gabriel late in the second quarter, getting Oakland to within 14-7 at the half.

Tommy Maddox's 39-yard completion to Ward, the Steelers' only long-yardage passing play of the game, led to Bettis' third scoring run late in the third and a 21-10 lead. Again, Oakland looked ready to be beaten, especially after Gannon was intercepted by linebacker James Farrior on the Raiders' next possession. But a Maddox fumble, recovered by Travian Smith, led to Sebastian Janikowski's 38-yard field goal that cut it to 21-13.

Gannon, the 2002 NFL MVP who held off Kerry Collins in training camp to keep his job, went 20 of 37 for 305 yards but lost the fumble and had two interceptions. Maddox was 13 of 22 for 142 yards, with Ward making seven catches for 99 yards.

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/3006918

[redskindave]

I wanted the Raiders to win that so badly, I live about 60 miles from Pittsburgh ans Im tired of hearing about the Steelers all the time already

[redskincity]

I wanted the Raiders to really win this game...Oh well..