Stewart Attracts All the Attention

It may be time for defenses to start worrying about Pittsburgh quarterback Kordell Stewart and his arm.

The Titans focused on stopping Jerome Bettis, so Stewart threw for two touchdowns and ran 48 yards for another score as the Steelers won, 34-24, Sunday for their first victory in five trips to Tennessee.

Stewart turned in one of the finest performances of his career to help the Steelers (8-2) continue their best start since they opened 9-2 in 1983. He picked apart the secondary while the Titans (4-6) put the emphasis on Bettis and the NFL’s leading rushing offense.

“Kordell beat them today,” Pittsburgh safety Lee Flowers said.

“Teams are going to have to start approaching this offense a little different. Are you going to stop Jerome, or are you going to stop Kordell, or the receivers? We’re not one-dimensional on offense anymore.”

Stewart tossed touchdown passes of four yards to Plaxico Burress and 25 yards to Amos Zereoue, and the league’s top rushing quarterback also used his legs. His 48-yard touchdown gave Pittsburgh its first lead, 17-14 in the third quarter.

He was 19 for 31 for 254 yards passing and ran eight times for 54 yards as the Steelers stayed atop the AFC Central. He hasn’t been intercepted in 155 attempts.

“He’s just playing with confidence now,” Titan linebacker Randall Godfrey said of Stewart. “That’s what’s been keeping them going. They live off big plays, and he’s been delivering them.”

Pittsburgh Coach Bill Cowher, who has stuck with Stewart through some difficult times, said he wasn’t sure if the teams he brought to Tennessee in previous seasons would have rallied from a 14-3 first-half deficit.

“I can’t put into words how big this win is. To come down here against a team whose season is on the line and to get a win is big,” he said.

Steve McNair tried to rally the Titans and his one-yard touchdown run got them to 27-24 with 8:23 to go. He had the Titans on the move again later, but Steeler cornerback Chad Scott intercepted a pass and returned it 45 yards for the clinching touchdown.

At Long Last

After a 1997 season in which Kordell Stewart accounted for 33 touchdowns and was selected to the Pro Bowl, Pittsburgh fans thought they had an emerging superstar. Instead Stewart wallowed in mediocrity for the next three seasons, showing only occasional glimpses of his talent. This season Stewart is slowly returning to the form that made him a household name.

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1997 1998-00 2001 Record 11-5 19-19 8-2 Comp. % 53.6 55.1 60.6 Yards 3,020 5,884 2,110 TDs 21 28 8 INTs. 17 36 4 Rating 75.2 66.4 84.2 Rush yards 476 1,085 431 Rush TDs 11 11 5

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Roy Jurgens