The body blows came in staccato fashion, from the arm of a rookie quarterback and the legs of an old pro.
Ben Roethlisberger would give the ball to Jerome Bettis, and Bettis would lower his shoulder and appear on the other side of the line, dragging Philadelphia Eagles defenders -- one, two, three at a time -- across the chewed-up earth.
PHOTO: AFP
With 6 minutes left in the Pittsburgh Steelers' latest symphony, Coach Bill Cowher motioned for Bettis to join him on the sideline, smiled as he grabbed two fistfuls of Bettis' jersey, then tapped Bettis approvingly on the back of the head.
PHOTO: AP
The last of the National Football League's undefeated had fallen.
"We're a great ball club," Steelers receiver Hines Ward said after Pittsburgh's 27-3 victory over the Eagles at Heinz Field, the second straight week the Steelers had taken down an unbeaten team here. "If we keep playing the way we're playing, we're going to be one of the teams to beat."
It looks like the Steelers (7-1) already are.
Instead of a letdown after stopping the New England Patriots' winning streak at 21 games last Sunday, the Steelers pounded the Eagles (7-1), becoming the first team in NFL history to defeat consecutive undefeated teams who had played at least six games.
With the divots and scuffs from the Patriots game still fresh, the 32-year-old Bettis, starting for the injured Duce Staley (hamstring), churned out 149 yards on 33 carries, his best game in three years.
"Age is just a number," Bettis said, "just like your shoe size."
Roethlisberger, the precocious Steelers quarterback, coolly completed 11 of 18 passes for 183 yards and 2 touchdowns, staking Pittsburgh to a lead that the Eagles never threatened.
After Ward scored a touchdown on the Steelers' opening drive, taking a handoff from Roethlisberger and scooting 16 yards on an end around, he put one foot on the football and flapped his arms like Eagles receiver Terrell Owens did the week before.
On the Steelers' next drive, Roethlisberger hit Ward on a 20-yard touchdown strike, and Ward reprised his act.
"I wasn't trying to show him up," Ward said of Owens, who celebrated a touchdown against Baltimore last Sunday by imitating Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. "I see him having fun doing it. What better way than to do it while he's out there?"
Owens cracked a smile when he saw Ward's imitation.
"Hines and I are good friends," Owens said. "I didn't have a problem with it. He can do whatever he wants. I just wish I had been on the receiving end."
But Owens never had the opportunity to reprise his Ray Lewis impression against Pittsburgh.
The Eagles were 0 for 8 on third down, and the Steelers sacked Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb four times.
Pittsburgh choked off McNabb's passing lanes, rendering Owens a bystander on most plays. Owens, who finished with seven catches for 53 yards, did not catch a pass until 7 minutes remained in the second quarter.
After that drive, which ended in a David Akers field goal that cut Pittsburgh's lead to 21-3, Owens could be seen shouting behind McNabb's back on the sideline and following McNabb as he tried to walk away.
It looked as if Owens was berating McNabb -- a tack Owens occasionally took with teammates and coaches while with the San Francisco 49ers -- but the two later said Owens was only trying to motivate McNabb.
"It was nothing," McNabb said. "It may have looked bad, but when you get in a battle, it's frustrating sometimes. You think he's the bad one of the bunch, but he was just trying to calm me down. He was trying to ease my mind."
Owens said, "I was trying to fire him up a little bit and tell him to keep his head up."
The Eagles had little fight in them Sunday in front of 64,975 fans, the largest crowd in Steelers history, breaking the week-old record set in the Patriots game last Sunday.
Eagles running back Brian Westbrook finished with 17 yards on 6 carries, and McNabb was 15 of 24 passing for 109 yards and an interception in the third quarter that was caused by the Steelers pressure.
Bills 22, Jets 17
In Orchard Park, New York, Willis McGahee ran for a career-high 132 yards and a touchdown, enabling Buffalo to overcome a 40kph wind and New York.
Buffalo (3-5) won its third game in four outings, and third straight at home -- all with McGahee as a starter. And the weather has played a factor in all three victories, with winds of 25 mph or stronger blowing off Lake Erie.
Buccaneers 34, Chiefs 31
In Tampa, Florida, Michael Pittman scored one of his three touchdowns on a team-record 78-yard run, giving Tampa Bay (3-5) consecutive victories for just the second time since they won the Super Bowl two years ago.
Brian Griese threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns, completing 22 of 34 passes.
The Chiefs (3-5) totaled 101 points and 1,130 yards in victories over Atlanta and Indianapolis the previous two weeks, and put up another big day statistically against Tampa Bay. Trent Green threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted by Dwight Smith in the end zone with under six minutes to go. He was sacked on consecutive plays to end Kansas City's last threat near midfield.
Redskins 17, Lions 10
In Detroit, Clinton Portis ran for 147 yards on 34 carries and threw a tiebreaking touchdown pass to lead Washington. Detroit (4-4) rallied late, but its hopes for a tying drive ended at the Washington 20-yard line as time expired.
With back-to-back 21-yard gains to open the second half, Portis became the first player to run for 100 yards against Detroit this season. Those powerful runs with sharp cutbacks set up his 15-yard pass to Laveranues Coles that gave Washington a 10-3 lead.
Taylor Jacobs blocked a punt and Walt Harris scooped up the ball and returned it 13 yards to put the Redskins (3-5) ahead by 14.
Cardinals 24, Dolphins 23
In Miami, Arizona capitalized on two critical penalties and drove 70 yards in the final 2 minutes for a touchdown to end a 17-game road losing streak.
Larry Fitzgerald caught the winning score on a 2-yard pass from Josh McCown with 19 seconds left after a holding penalty against Miami negated a sack and gave the Cardinals first-and-goal.
The Dolphins committed 12 penalties and dropped at least three passes and two potential interceptions. The margin of defeat was an extra point missed in the first quarter by Bill Gramatica.
Bengals 26, Cowboys 3
In Cincinnati, Matt Schobel caught a pass from Carson Palmer and ran 76 yards for a touchdown, leading Cincinnati (3-5). Schobel, who had only 11 catches in the first seven games, broke open a game of conservative play calling. The Bengals (3-5) turned four field goals by Shayne Graham and the one big play by Schobel into a soothing win.
Vinny Testaverde had his worst game with the Cowboys. Throwing to an injury-depleted receiving corps, Testaverde was 18-of-30 for 207 yards with three interceptions and a fumble.
Raiders 27, Panthers 24
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Tyrone Wheatley and Amos Zereoue combined to run for three touchdowns, and Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 19-yard field goal with 6 seconds to play. Dante Wesley's 38-yard pass interference gave Oakland the ball at the 4, and Janikowski kicked the winner three plays later.
The loss was the sixth straight for Carolina (1-7), which watched Jarrod Cooper, cut by the Panthers two weeks ago for "football reasons," return to help Oakland (3-6).
Patriots 40, Rams 22
In St. Louis, Adam Vinatieri beat the Rams with his leg in the 2002 Super Bowl. This time, he used his leg and his arm. New England's kicker hit a season-best four field goals, then threw his first career touchdown pass on a fake.
Corey Dillon returned after a one-week absence with 112 yards rushing on 25 carries and a touchdown for the Patriots, whose 21-game winning streak ended in a loss to Pittsburgh last week.
The Patriots (7-1) compensated for an injury-ravaged secondary by sacking Marc Bulger five times, forcing a fumble and intercepting a tipped ball. New England was without both starting cornerbacks, then lost one of the fill-ins, Asante Samuel, with an arm injury in the first quarter.
Chargers 43, Saints 17
In San Diego, Drew Brees, the quarterback the front office didn't want coming into this season, threw four more touchdown passes -- three to tight end Antonio Gates. It was San Diego's highest-scoring game since beating the Miami Dolphins 45-20 on Dec. 27, 1993. The Chargers (6-3) won for the fifth time in six games.
Brees has thrown nine touchdown passes in two blowout wins, pushing his season total to 18, against just three interceptions. Last year, he threw 15 interceptions and 11 touchdowns, was benched for five games and pulled from two others.
Ravens 27, Browns 13
In Baltimore, Jamal Lewis scored the decisive touchdown with 7:03 left following a 7-yard punt, and Ed Reed sealed the victory with an NFL-record 106-yard interception return in the waning seconds.
Back from a two-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, Lewis ran for 81 yards on 22 carries. His 2-yard burst into the end zone was set up by two outstanding plays by Baltimore's special teams.
First, the Ravens' B.J. Sams made a diving save in the end zone to enable Baltimore (5-3) to down a punt at the Cleveland 1. Then, after the defense yielded only 1 yard on three plays, the Ravens pressured Derrick Frost into a wobbly kick that made the touchdown drive easy.
Matt Stover kicked four field goals for the Ravens, who wore black uniforms for the first time. Richard Alston returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown for the Browns (3-5).
Broncos 31, Texans 13
In Denver, Rod Smith became Denver's career leader in receptions and touchdown catches and Jake Plummer threw for four touchdowns with no interceptions to help the Broncos (6-3) snap a two-game losing streak.
In the first quarter, Smith caught his 676th career pass to surpass Shannon Sharpe on the team's receptions list. Later, Smith caught a 13-yard touchdown for his 56th score receiving, also passing Sharpe.
Seahawks 42, 49ers 27
In San Francisco, Darrell Jackson caught two long touchdown passes from Matt Hasselbeck, and Shaun Alexander rushed for 160 yards and two scores.
Jackson had five catches for 114 yards, and Koren Robinson also caught a TD pass for the Seahawks (5-3), who stayed atop the NFC West with their second straight victory following three straight losses.
Bears 28, Giants 21
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, the Bears forced five turnovers in a 20-point explosion late in the first half.
Craig Krenzel threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to ignite the rally and Anthony Thomas scored on runs of 4 and 41 yards as Chicago (3-5) won its second straight game and handed the Giants (5-3) their second straight home loss.
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