Published: Monday, October 16, 2006
Pittsburgh's defense jells, too
By TOM WILLIAMS
PITTSBURGH — As well as the Steelers offense looked hitting an all cylinders Sunday against the Chiefs, the defense quietly matched it in intensity.
While quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was engineering five first-half scoring drives in the 45-7 victory at Heinz Field, his counterparts totally frustrated the Chiefs, limiting them to 47 yards as they fell behind 31-0 in the first half.
Running back Jarry Johnson carried the ball nine times before halftime, gaining 16 yards.
Quarterback Damon Huard completed 6-for-11 passes for 27 yards. None of the completions gained more than 8 yards.
"Boy, they came to play today," said Huard, who finished with 162 yards by completing half of his 32 passes. "They just played it in another gear than we did."
A week after Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers carved up the Steelers, particularly in the second half, Pittsburgh rebounded, albeit against a much less-talented quarterback who is playing because of starter Trent Green's concussion.
"When you get down, you just can't run the ball," said Johnson who finished with 26 yards on 15 carries. "We played against a championship team today."
Although the game was a blowout, the second half featured one hair-raising moment after strong safety Troy Polamalu intercepted Huard in the third quarter.
Grabbed his hair
During the return, Johnson stopped the longed-hair Polamalu by grabbing his flowing locks and yanking him down.
"It didn't hurt at all," said Polamalu, who added that he's never been tackled by the follicles before. "If I have the ball in my hands, they can tackle me all day like that."
Johnson said he had little choice.
"I mean the dude had hair, what do you want me to do?" Johnson said. "They said the hair is part of the uniform, last time I checked. When I grabbed him, that's the only thing I could get my hands on."
After the play, players from both sides gathered closely because Johnson said his hand was tangled in Polamalu's hair. Three flags were thrown on the play — all against the Chiefs — and the Steelers accepted a personal foul call on Johnson.
"I hope I got penalized for hitting [Steelers cornerback] Ike Taylor in the face twice and not for pulling Troy's hair," said Johnson.
"If you know anybody who has long hair, you take your hand and run it through anybody's head — it's going to get stuck and that's what happened. It wasn't like I was trying to jerk him around after I made the tackle because I wasn't disappointed."
Polamalu said he has no hard feelings.
"He can tackle me by the hair or by the ankles," the fourth-year safety said. "I understand the nature of the game."
Polamalu said the Steelers' linemen and linebackers deserve credit for dominating the Chiefs' line.
"When they can't get the run game going, it makes it easy to jump some routes," Polamalu said. "The front seven did a great job."
Late in the game, linebacker Rian Wallace intercepted substitute quarterback Brodie Croyle's pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.
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