PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers proved two things Sunday: Their latest accomplishment is an important part of their past and Jerome Bettis is essential to their present.
Bettis, 32, stepped in for injured starter Duce Staley and gave the previously unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles more than they could handle, rushing for 149 yards in 33 carries and powering Pittsburgh to a 27-3 victory at Heinz Field.
A week after handing New England its first loss, the Steelers became the first franchise in NFL history to knock off unbeaten teams in consecutive weeks this late in the season. The bonus for Bettis? He delivered those four little words to the people who doubted him: I told you so.
"It's directed at everybody who assumed that J.B. couldn't get it done," he said. "Or, 'Why are we keeping him around here? He's a charity case.' ... I'm still here for a reason. And the organization understood that. Believe me, they don't just pay people to sit around."
If the Steelers (7-1) were sitting anywhere Sunday, it was squarely on the chest of their cross-state rivals, who failed to score a touchdown in a regular-season game for the first time since losing to Tampa Bay in their 2003 opener.
Philadelphia (7-1), which entered the game as the league's last unbeaten team, lost the time-of-possession battle by nearly 24 minutes; was 0 for 8 on third-down conversions; ventured once inside the Steeler 20-yard line; and never forced a punt.
"We were terrible, and they were good," said Coach Andy Reid, who saw his team's nine-game road winning streak snapped by the franchise's worst defeat away from home in five years.
The combination of Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens provided more sparks on the sideline than the field. Television cameras caught Owens gesturing and yelling at his quarterback while McNabb stared straight ahead and kept walking away. Later, the receiver said he was merely screaming words of encouragement.
"That was just me trying to fire him up a little bit, pick his head up," Owens said. "Donovan is obviously a competitor, and I am too. It's going to be like that sometimes. It's nothing different than when we are in practice."
Regardless, it didn't seem to help. When Philadelphia's offense returned to the field -- even though McNabb's next two throws were a pair of four-yard completions to Owens -- the result was another three and out. Owens, who entered the game with a league-leading nine touchdown catches, was barely noticeable with seven catches for 53 yards.
