Weather Doesn’t Cool Off Steelers

They are getting hot just when the weather is turning its wintertime worst, but the Pittsburgh Steelers still might get left out in the cold.

Tim Worley ran for 104 yards and a touchdown, Louis Lipps scored on a 58-yard reverse and Pittsburgh’s physical defense dominated for the second consecutive week as the surging Steelers beat the New England Patriots, 28-10, Sunday.

Merril Hoge also ran for two short-range touchdowns as the Steelers (8-7), shaking off a five-degree game-time temperature and a minus-15 wind-chill factor, won for the fourth time in five games to keep alive an outside shot at their first playoff berth in five years.

Despite their surge, the Steelers still must beat Tampa Bay next Sunday and hope for several teams to lose in order to make the playoffs.

The Steelers’ wild-card chances were helped by San Diego’s upset of Kansas City (7-7-1) and the Indianapolis Colts’ rout of Miami (8-7), but were hurt by Cincinnati (8-7) beating Houston and Cleveland (8-6-1) defeating Minnesota.

“I don’t care, it’s good to know we’ve still got even an outside chance, and that’s keeping us going,” defensive lineman Tim Johnson said. “We’re going to approach (Tampa Bay) like we’re going to the playoffs if we win, and like we’re going out with a bang.”

The crowd of 26,594 was believed to be the Steelers’ lowest since they moved into 59,000-seat Three Rivers Stadium in 1970. There were 22,406 no-shows on the bitterly cold day.

“It was so cold out there, even the hot-air blowers on the sidelines were running out of gas and blowing cold air,” Johnson said. “I mean, it was treacherous out there.”

Said quarterback Bubby Brister: “I don’t care, I wish it had snowed three feet instead of seven inches. This is our weather . . . this is Steelers’ weather.”

The Steelers held New England’s leading rusher, John Stephens, to 35 yards, and forced three turnovers. And they limited the Patriots (5-10) to a lone field goal on five trips inside the Steelers’ 35 until Marc Wilson’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Jones with 1:16 left in the game.

Pittsburgh, ranked 28th in the NFL in overall defense last season, shut out the New York Jets, 13-0, last week and has held its last five opponents to 64 points.

“We fell short of getting the ball in the end zone, and, offensively, that was our main problem,” Patriot Coach Raymond Berry said. “Pittsburgh is playing excellent football right now, and they’ve beaten a lot of good teams in the last couple of months.”

The Steelers were outgained, 403-347, for the 11th time in their last 12 games, but allowed New England most of its yardage between the 20-yard lines. The Patriots already are guaranteed of only their second losing season during the 1980s.

“It’s embarrassing. This is pretty much the low point for us this season,” cornerback Raymond Clayborn said. “We weren’t in this ballgame at all. We’ve only got one game left to go out and do something we can be proud of.”