... by winning two
straight, including their first of the season on the road Sunday in
Detroit.
Pittsburgh is now tied with Baltimore at 3-2 and trail first-place
Cincinnati by a game in the division. They play the next two games in
Heinz Field before their bye and expect both Pro Bowl strong safety Troy Polamalu and running back Willie Parker to return to play against
Cleveland Sunday.
Polamalu has been out with a sprained MCL in his left knee since it
was injured in the opener and Parker missed the past two games with turf
toe.
The decisions in all five of their games have come down to late in
the fourth quarter or overtime, and Sunday was no different in Detroit
when the Steelers had to stop the Lions on a drive that carried to their
21 with two minutes left. From there, however, the Steelers sacked
Daunte Culpepper three straight times to seal their eight-point victory.
"It's definitely been the type of year where we have to play a full
60 minutes," said defensive captain James Farrior. "We don't fold under
pressure. We know it's going to be thick out there. Sometimes we came up
short but we have a lot of fight in us."
Pittsburgh's defense has not been nearly as dominant as it was when
it led the NFL last season. The Steelers have yielded 55 points in the
fourth quarter, compared to just 43 in the first three quarters
combined.
"We're still searching for the Steelers," Farrior claimed.
NOTES, QUOTES
--It looked like Super Bowl XL again as thousands of Steelers fans
helped sell out Ford Field, which drew only 40,000 for the previous
Lions home game.
"I appreciated the support of Steeler Nation and they traveled
awesome today," coach Mike Tomlin said after the game. "It's spectacular
to stand on the visiting sideline and see the fan support we had in this
building today."
--Pittsburgh's streak of not allowing a first-quarter score ended in
Detroit when Jason Hanson kicked two field goals of 46 yards. The last
time the Steelers yielded fist-quarter points came in their first
playoff game last season, to San Diego. They had gone six games,
including the AFC championship and Super Bowl, without giving up a
first-quarter score.
--Detroit linebacker Larry Foote congratulated his former teammates
in the Steelers locker room after the game. Foote hosted about 10 of his
former mates at his home Saturday night in Detroit.
"He's always a Steeler," wide receiver Hines Ward said. "He's welcome
whenever."
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
PLAYER NOTES
--FS Troy Polamalu, who has not played since his MCL was sprained in
the opener, practiced some last week, stretched before the game and is
expected to suit up this Sunday.
--RB Willie Parker missed his second straight game with turf toe and
may have lost his starting job to Rashard Mendenhall in the process.
Parker should play this Sunday.
--WR Hines Ward again led the Steelers with seven receptions for 85
yards and his first TD of the season. Ward is off to one of his fastest
starts at age 33 with 33 catches for 440 yards.
--S Ryan Clark's interception in the third quarter was the first for
the Steelers since the first game and only their second this season.
--WR Limas Sweed was active in Detroit after he was benched the
previous game for dropping a TD pass. He dropped the only pass thrown his way
Sunday.
REPORT CARD VS. LIONS
PASSING OFFENSE: B-plus -- Ben Roethlisberger got good protection and
had his best day of the season, completing 23 of 30 for 277 yards, three
touchdowns and a 123.9 passer rating. But he also threw an interception
that was returned 38 yards for a touchdown that put the Lions back in
the game, down by a point. Roethlisberger was sacked three times, two of
them coverage sacks.
RUSHING OFFENSE: B -- Rashard Mendenhall turned in his second
straight good performance replacing injured Willie Parker as the
starter. He ran 15 times for 77 yards and a 7-yard touchdown. However,
the Steelers did not run much. Roethlisberger had three kneel-downs and
Mewelde Moore ran twice; they gained just 82 yards on the ground as a
team.
PASS DEFENSE: C-plus -- The Steelers allowed Daunte Culpepper to sit
back and throw and scramble and make third-down conversions, many of
them long, at the rate of 11-of-18. It was not until the final drive as
the Lions closed in on possibly tying the game that they cut loose with
the blitz and they sacked him four times, three in a row, of their seven
for the day. Culpepper completed 23 of 37 for 282, one TD and one
interception for an 83.4 rating.
RUSH DEFENSE: B -- Detroit's 110 yards and 4.4-yard average per carry
were deceiving because Culpepper picked up 44 of those on three
scrambles. Otherwise, the Lions ground game produced just 66 yards on 21
tries and no touchdowns. Kevin Smith led Detroit with 53 yards on 20
carries.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B -- Little stuck out other than Stephan Logan's
47-yard kickoff return that started a 52-yard touchdown drive in the
second quarter. Jeff Reed tried no field goals and punter Daniel
Sepulveda averaged 48.5, 43.3 net with one of his four punts inside the
20. The Lions had no returns of note.
COACHING: C-minus -- Even though they led 28-13 in the fourth
quarter, the Steelers came out passing with 10 minutes left and Ben
Roethlisberger was sacked twice. Coordinator Bruce Arians acknowledged
that he "got greedy there." Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau played a
conservative game against the Lions and Detroit used it to their
advantage right up until the end when LeBeau dialed it up and Culpepper
was sacked four times on the Lions' final drive that fizzled.