Little-Used Vaughn Lifts Seahawks, 16-6 : AFC: After getting only six carries all season, Seattle running back gains 131 yards in 16-6 victory over Pittsburgh.

Jon Vaughn, a forgotten man in Seattle’s offense, had a day the Pittsburgh Steelers wanted to forget.

Vaughn, who had only six carries this season going into Sunday’s game, replaced an ailing Chris Warren and had a career-best 131-yard performance in 26 carries in a 16-6 victory over the Steelers.

John L. Williams had 86 yards in 14 carries as the Seahawks ran for 267 yards against the NFL’s No. 1 rushing defense.

The Seahawks (6-9) tripled their 1992 win total and ended a four-game losing streak. They handed Pittsburgh (8-7) a big defeat in its bid for an AFC wild-card berth, although the Steelers remain alive in the playoff race.

Vaughn, acquired in a trade with New England on Aug. 15 for a draft choice, finally got a chance to get some extended playing time because Warren, the Seahawks’ 1,000-yard rusher, was out with a strained abdomen.

Coach Tom Flores made the decision to go with Vaughn instead of Warren only 90 minutes before the game after Warren ran a lap and made some cuts.

Vaughn had his second 100-yard NFL rushing performance. He rushed for 110 yards for the Patriots against the New York Jets on Nov. 22, 1992.

Rick Mirer completed a two-yard touchdown pass to Paul Green and John Kasay kicked field goals of 32, 48 and 35 yards.

Mirer said he wasn’t surprised by Vaughn’s big day.

“I look at Jon and he’s got the talent to be a great back,” Mirer said. “He just needs the opportunity to do it and he took advantage of it today. He’s very difficult to tackle.”

The Steelers ran out of downs on the Seattle two-yard line with 17 seconds remaining.

The Steelers, whose loss to Houston last weekend cost them a shot at the Central title, had to settle for field goals of 42 and 43 yards by Gary Anderson.

Neil O’Donnell completed 20 of 43 passes for 285 yards, while Mirer completed 12 of 29 passes for 117 yards. Each was intercepted once.