Cowher-Powered Steelers Rout Chargers, 23-6 : AFC: Noll’s successor still unbeaten; players credit his enthusiasm.

Cowher power is for real.

Bill Cowher, the successor to Chuck Noll, became the first rookie coach in Pittsburgh Steeler history to win his first three games as the Steelers routed the San Diego Chargers, 23-6, Sunday.

“I’m not going to get caught up in that,” Cowher said. “Our football team knows what it has to do. We’ll just keep riding this thing and take it as far as it’ll go.”

Cowher’s biggest fans are in his locker room.

“Everybody’s excited on this team, thanks to Bill,” said linebacker Jerrol Williams, who had one interception. “He’s turned us loose and let us play.”

Tight end Adrian Cooper, who scored the Steelers’ first touchdown, said: “Our enthusiasm is based upon his enthusiasm. Before every game he has fire in his eyes, and that ignites the fire in the players’ eyes.”

With the Chargers bottling up league-leading rusher Barry Foster, Neil O’Donnell threw two touchdown passes and ran for another. The Steelers kept their takeaway-giveaway ratio at plus-five.

Meanwhile, the Chargers dropped to 0-3 under rookie Coach Bobby Ross.

“I want to apologize to our ownership, to our management and to our fans for a very embarrassing performance,” Ross said. “At the end we really self-destructed. . . . I take full blame for it.”

The Charger players, however, accepted their part of the blame for getting off to their second consecutive 0-3 start.

“That’s Bobby Ross,” quarterback Bob Gagliano said. “When he said that, I said, ‘It’s not you, it’s all of us.’ He wants to win real bad and I think everyone does.”

The Steelers had 12 takeaways and seven turnovers in their first two games for a plus-five ratio. They had three interceptions Sunday to increase their NFL lead to 12, but also lost the ball three times.

In the fourth quarter, Steeler linebacker David Little intercepted a pass by Stan Humphries that Kenny Davidson tipped. Five plays later, O’Donnell faked a handoff, then ran a bootleg one yard for a 20-6 lead.