PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : Pegram Labors Over Whether to Play

Pittsburgh’s Erric Pegram received the call at the team’s hotel at 4 a.m. Sunday: Your wife has gone into labor and she’s at the hospital.

Pegram, the team’s starting running back, immediately left for the hospital and then he made the call to Coach Bill Cowher.

“He said it was up to me,” Pegram said, “and I respect that about the man. He was concerned for my family.

“I talked to my wife about it and asked her what she wanted me to do. She said, ‘You better play; I want to go to the Super Bowl.’ ”

So Pegram joined his teammates at Three Rivers Stadium, and while he was carrying the ball six times in the first half for 31 yards, Sonja Pegram was giving birth to a daughter in the hospital.

“A ballboy told me as we were coming out at halftime,” Pegram said. “He said I had a daughter: Taylor.

“Let me tell you, the way this day went, I had something like 10 heart attacks. What an unbelievable day.”

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During the timeout for the two-minute warning, Pittsburgh wide receiver Ernie Mills had time to chat with quarterback Neil O’Donnell. Mills told O’Donnell he could get deep, so when play resumed, O’Donnell called a play that allowed both Mills and Yancey Thigpen to stretch the Colt defense.

“I told them in the huddle they were going to get their chance and they’d have to go get it when I put it out there,” O’Donnell said. “When we broke the huddle everyone on the sideline was yelling for me to go to Yancey’s side. You know there are eight million coaches out there. I took a quick peek at Yancey, but then went back to Ernie.”

Mills caught the ball for a 37-yard gain to the Colts’ one-yard line and two plays later Bam Morris scored for a 20-16 lead.

“That’s the reason we call him, ‘Thrills Mills,’ ” Pegram said. “He’s always coming up with the big catch at the big moment.”

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Who will draw as much media attention at the Super Bowl as Dallas’ Deion Sanders? Kordell Stewart.

The NFL’s top two novelty players will be on the same field for the final game of the year. Stewart, the quarterback from Colorado who has played running back, wide receiver and has also punted, had modest statistics against the Colts, but played a key role.

Four of the first five times he touched the ball, the Steelers gained a first down. Stewart, who played quarterback on four plays, also caught two passes for 18 yards and ran four times for 12 yards, including a dazzling five-yard run on third and two to keep Pittsburgh’s first touchdown drive of the day alive.

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Television replays showed clearly that Stewart ran out of the back of the end zone before returning to make his five-yard touchdown catch. By rule, a penalty should have been called with the Steelers losing the down.

Referee Bernie Kukar said, “Obviously, there was no flag thrown so nothing happened. Nobody obviously saw him step out of the end line. If they did, it would have been a penalty.”