Overtime Not Nervous Time When Bubby’s Buddies Play

In their first overtime huddle here Sunday, Bubby Brister, the young quarterback who led the Pittsburgh Steelers in, told his teammates to get ready to win.

“When I went into the huddle,” Brister reported afterward, “all I said was, ‘We’ve been here before. Let’s do it again.’ ”

A moment later they did, battling for the first down that set up Gary Anderson’s game-winning 50-yard field goal, which eliminated the Houston Oilers, 26-23.

Asked to explain the upset win in Jerry Glanville’s town, Brister, winking, said: “We’re playing hard, dirty football.”

Glanville, the Houston coach, expected more in this game after the Oilers had twice beaten Pittsburgh in the regular season.

“I never thought for a moment that we’d lose today,” he said. “I still think the season was a success.”

The Steelers and Oilers, who play in the same division, came into the AFC wild-card game with the same records, 9-7.

Itemizing some of the Houston mistakes in what was basically a badly played game, Glanville said, “You can’t have foolish penalties, fumbles, and dropped TD passes and expect to win.”

Glanville’s view was obscured of the decisive play, Houston halfback Lorenzo White’s fumble to the Steelers when he was hit by Pittsburgh cornerback Rod Woodson.

“I couldn’t tell if it was a helmet or arm that knocked the ball loose,” he said. “But it was definitely a fumble.”

Said Pittsburgh Coach Chuck Noll: “The way (Woodson) came up and knocked the ball away, it was the biggest play of the game.”

Anderson’s 50-yard kick helped, too.

“The Astrodome extends everybody’s range a little bit,” he told the largest crowd of postgame interviewers. “I’ve always said if you can’t kick in a dome, you can’t kick.”

Reminded that the Steelers had lost their first two games this season by a composite score of 92-10, Anderson said: “We had a real sinking ship (for a while). I don’t think any other coach could have straightened it out.”