Steelers Ruin Dungy’s Homecoming, 13-3

The Pittsburgh Steelers may not have definitively settled their quarterback search, but their defense and Jerome Bettis’ running were enough to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13-3 Saturday night in Pittsburgh.

It was an unsuccessful return for new Bucs coach Tony Dungy, a former Steelers player and the youngest defensive coordinator in franchise history under coach Chuck Noll.

The Steelers’ defense, which might be even better than the unit that led them to the Super Bowl, harassed quarterbacks Trent Dilfer and Casey Weldon into numerous mistakes and had a shutout going until the fourth quarter.

Even when the Bucs put together an 18-play drive that lasted 10 minutes, 23 seconds, they were forced to settle for Michael Husted’s 33-yard field goal. Weldon, 9-of-15 for 76 yards, was sacked for a 7-yard loss by Israel Raybon on third-and-3 from the Steelers 8.

The Steelers lost an apparent touchdown when Andre Hastings was ruled out of bounds on a 10-yard pass play early in the second half, although TV replays showed both legs coming down inbounds.

Despite quarterback Mike Tomczak’s unimpressive first half, the Steelers still had enough offense to outscore the NFL’s 27th-ranked offense in 1995. Tomczak, Neil O’Donnell’s former backup and his heir apparent, was 6-of-12 for 71 yards and was sacked twice.

Jim Miller, who is pushing Tomczak, was 3-of-6 for 14 yards and led a third-quarter drive that ended with Norm Johnson’s 28-yard field goal after the Hastings catch was waved off.

Kordell Stewart, who leads all of the numerous fan polls, drew the biggest ovation of the three Steelers quarterbacks and directed a fourthquarter drive finished off by Joe Wood’s 39-yard field goal. Stewart was 2-of-6 for 32 yards and had three carries for 25 yards.

While Tomczak’s mediocre outing may complicate coach Bill Cowher’s pending quarterback decision, Tomczak still directed the only touchdown drive, which was ended by Bettis’ 1-yard run with 21 seconds left in the first half.

Bettis carried five times for 39 yards on a 15-play, 76-yard drive that made it 7-0. Tomczak kept the drive going with completions of 12 yards to Jahine Arnold on second-and-20 and 14 yards to Charles Johnson on third-and-8.

Despite the loss, it was another improved outing by a Bucs defense that was the NFL’s second-worst statistically last season. Tampa Bay has allowed only 10 points in its last two exhibitions, including a 16-0 victory over Atlanta on Aug. 10.

But Dilfer, a disappointment last year while throwing only four touchdown passes in his first season as a starter, couldn’t take advantage of the excellent defense, finishing 6-of-10 for 48 yards.

Weldon was better, completing all eight of his passes for 64 yards on the Tampa Bay drive that consumed most of the third period and spilled over into the fourth. But Jerry Ellison, the replacement for holdout Errict Rhett, was stopped for no gain on second-and-3 from the 8 by Myron Bell, and Raybon sacked Weldon a play later.

The Steelers are 2-2 and must win Friday at Philadelphia to assure their first winning preseason since 1988. The Buccaneers are 1-2.

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