With No Shot, Bettis Says He’ll Be Ready

Jerome Bettis said Monday he is certain he’ll return from a seven-week layoff to play in the AFC championship game. He’s also sure about something else.

No more needles.

Bettis, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Pro Bowl running back, said he realizes it was a mistake to get a painkilling shot just before Sunday’s AFC playoff game against Baltimore. The injection apparently struck a nerve and caused one of Bettis’ legs to go numb, preventing him from playing.

The Steelers went on to beat the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens, 27-10, without him, and they would be favored to beat New England in the AFC championship game even if he doesn’t play.

However, Bettis insists he will play, saying, “I could have played about 5 or 6 o’clock [Sunday] after the shot wore off.”

Amos Zereoue ran for 63 yards and two short touchdowns as the replacement for Bettis, who averages almost 100 yards a game.

“He’ll definitely be the freshest man in the playoffs when he comes back,” offensive tackle Wayne Gandy said. “For a man like him who is driven, who already is a hard runner, if he gets a chance to play Sunday, he’ll be running 100 miles per hour.”

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Kurt Warner bruised ribs in the St. Louis Rams’ playoff victory against Green Bay, but he isn’t expected to miss any practice time.

The quarterback was hit by Vonnie Holliday after a four-yard completion to Marshall Faulk in the fourth quarter of the Rams’ 45-17 victory Sunday.

X-rays taken Monday showed no broken ribs, and the team said Warner will participate Wednesday when practice resumes.

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Baltimore quarterback Randall Cunningham, who planned to make this his final season, is considering returning for one more year.

Cunningham, 38, played in seven games as a backup for Elvis Grbac. He completed 54 of 89 passes for 573 yards and three touchdowns and was 2-0 as a starter.

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The AFC and NFC games Sunday drew an average overnight rating of 20.45, up 4% from the 19.7 in 2001.

The Rams’ victory in the late game on Fox drew a 21 rating and 36 share, up from the 20.6/36 for the New York Giants’ 20-10 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in the same time slot last year.

The Steelers’ victory in the early game on CBS drew a 19.9/40. That’s 6% better than for Baltimore’s 24-10 victory against Tennessee in 2001.

The overnight ratings for Saturday’s two playoff games were up 29% from 2001.