Rams Also Were Beaten Up by Steelers : Pittsburgh: Chuck Noll’s hit men leave their mark with a series of crunching blows in 41-10 victory.

If you happened to videotape Monday night’s Rams-Steelers game, you might as well tell kids to ignore those holiday offers of an NFL greatest-hit tape that comes with a subscription to that sports magazine.

The 41-10 beating, and the operative word here is beating , that the Rams suffered at the hands--not to forget helmets and shoulder pads--of the Steelers was a prime-time hit parade in itself.

From Pittsburgh’s point of view, this one had a real nice beat and you could even dance to it. Which is exactly what Steeler linebacker Jerrol Williams did after teammate Tyronne Stowe flattened Robert Delpino, leaving him writhing on the turf after a kickoff return.

Williams received a 15-yard penalty for an “unsportsmanlike act.” Delpino got a concussion and was left with one heck of a headache.

If the Ram coaches have any mercy, they won’t force their team to review the game film of this one. Leave them with their black-and-blue blotches and bruised egos. They’ve suffered enough after the Steelers turned Three Rivers Stadium into a house of pain.

“We’ve always got an aggressive defense, but I think we really intimidated them tonight,” linebacker Greg Lloyd said. “We picked the pace up a notch tonight. A couple of big hits by some guys kind of turned things up a little bit. It just fell into place.”

The biggest mistake the Rams made was opening a hole so Gaston Green could return the opening kickoff 100 yards. If they were playing the one-hand-anywhere brand of touch football, Green still would have scored on this return. But that Rams’ 7-0 lead did little except rile the hard-hitting Steelers, who waited four years for the chance to play a game on Monday night.

“We finally got a chance to be on ‘Monday Night Football’ and we wanted to shine in the spotlight,” Lloyd said. “Then they run that kick back and everyone’s saying, ‘Oh, (shoot).’ We were really motivated then.”

Pittsburgh’s offense drove 75 yards in eight plays to tie the score, 7-7, and then the Steeler defense took the field with the intent of making the Rams pay.

Fullback Buford McGee, who ended up on the wrong end on two of the more vicious hits of the game, was the first to feel the results of the Steelers’ wrath.

On the Rams’ third play from scrimmage, 5-foot 9-inch, 182-pound safety Thomas Everett leveled McGee after he caught a six-yard pass in the flat. If it shook up McGee, it also awakened the Steelers.

“I’ve seen Thomas hit guys in practice and they didn’t want to catch the ball again,” said cornerback David Johnson, who led the spirited Steeler secondary with an interception, a forced fumble, three passes defensed and seven tackles. “We were after them tonight and when you keep getting pounded like that, especially some of their smaller receivers, you start looking around before you catch the ball. It’s just human nature.”

The Rams started doing a lot of what came naturally. As the Steelers’ started pouring on the points, the Rams looked as if they might be thinking about pulling a Buster Douglas. What’s the use of getting up and getting punched out again.

“I don’t think it’s just the Rams, though,” Everett said. “A lot of the receivers we’ve been playing have been dropping a lot of balls. We play hard. We hit hard. And I think you would have to say we had some effect on them.”

That’s a safe assessment. And it wasn’t only the receivers who felt the Steelers’ wrath, either. Just ask Delpino, if he can remember what happened.

Pittsburgh kicked off a lot on this evening and, after Green’s opening 100-yard dash, Gary Anderson was aiming his kickoffs at the Rams’ other returner--Delpino. He became a marked man, a target whose human shields didn’t offer nearly enough protection.

First, Gary Jones broke through the Ram wedge, hit Delpino low and literally flipped the Ram fullback in midair. Then came the crowning blow, when Stowe leveled him.

“I’d rather hit someone like that than be hit like that,” Stowe said. “If can get my shot, I can make you pay. I mean I don’t go out and try to hurt somebody, but I’ve got to earn my money. And that’s the talent God gave me.”

The entire Pittsburgh defense seemed bent on bending Rams.

“You’ve got to give them credit,” Ram receiver Henry Ellard said. “They’re the number one defensive team in the league and tonight they proved it.”

Again and again and again.