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PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Fittingly enough on a night when they honored
their 1974 Super Bowl champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame
another dismal offensive performance with some stirring defense.
The Steelers sacked Chris Chandler seven times, then overcame
Chandler's late heroics with two goal-line stands in the final two
minutes to preserve a 13-9 victory Monday night.
|  | | Steelers linebacker Jason Gildon records one of Pittsburgh's seven sacks of Falcons quarterback Chris Chandler. |
The Falcons trailed 13-0 and never threatened offensively until
Chandler hit Terance Mathis on a 5-yard scoring pass with 6:42 to
play. Chandler then found Mathis again on a 40-yard completion to
the Steelers' 7 following Jerome Bettis' midfield fumble.
But after Ken Oxendine ran 6 yards to set up a second-and-goal
at the 1, the Steelers' defense stuffed three successive running
plays.
Fullback Bob Christian was stopped for no gain by Kevin Henry on
second down, and Levon Kirkland blew through the left side of the
Falcons' offensive line to dump Christian for a 1-yard loss on
third down.
The Falcons (1-6) eschewed the short pass to run again on fourth
down, but Earl Holmes and Kirkland teamed to stop Oxendine inches
short of the goal line on fourth down.
Sitting only a few feet away from the end zone, several of the
1974 Steelers -- a team driven by Hall of Fame defenders Joe Greene,
Jack Ham and Jack Lambert -- slapped high fives in celebration.
The Steelers (4-3), unable to get a first down that would run
out the clock, then took a safety rather than punt out of the end
zone on fourth down to make it 13-9.
Still, Chandler wasn't done, finding Tim Dwight for 27 yards to
the Steelers' 5 with five seconds left. But, after spiking the ball
to save time for one last play, Chandler couldn't find an open
Dwight over the middle on the final play that epitomized the
frustration of a disappointing team that reached the Super Bowl
only 10 months ago.
"We had to stop them, we had no choice," Steelers cornerback
Chad Scott said. "If we don't stop them, we lose the game."
Chandler finished 20-of-34 for 233 yards, or only three fewer
yards than the entire Atlanta offense produced. Mathis had 12
catches for 166 yards.
The Steelers weren't much better offensively than Atlanta,
scoring their only touchdown -- and the first by their starters in
three home games -- only after Chad Scott's 16-yard interception
return gave them a first down at the Atlanta 11 late in the first
quarter.
Two plays later, Richard Huntley -- once the backup for injured
Falcons running back Jamal Anderson -- scored on a 13-yard swing
pass from Kordell Stewart for a 7-0 lead that was the Steelers'
first in three home games this season.
Rookie Kris Brown later kicked field goals of 51 and 25 yards,
making him 11-of-11 to start his NFL career and helping the
Steelers end a four-game home losing streak that was their longest
since moving into Three Rivers Stadium in 1970.
The Falcons (1-6) haven't beaten the Steelers since that season,
going 1-11 against them and 0-5 in Three Rivers. Their 1-6 start is
their second in three seasons but one that was totally unexpected
coming off their 14-2 season of a year ago.
The Falcons haven't been the same team since Anderson was lost
with a season-ending knee injury. The NFL's third-worst rushing
offense ran for only six yards in the first half and finished with
49 yards on 25 attempts.
Defensively, the Falcons shut down Stewart, who stayed mostly
with swing passes, short throws to his wide receivers and handoffs
to Bettis in an effort to limit turnovers. Bettis ran for 58 yards
in the first half against the NFL's third-worst rushing defense and
finished with 80 yards.
Stewart was 13-of-21 for 127 yards but never once tried to go
downfield, completing no pass longer than 23 yards.
The Steelers are 8-0 in Monday home games under coach Bill
Cowher, while the Falcons have lost their past 10 Monday games --
the longest such streak in the NFL.
Cowher and Falcons coach Dan Reeves broke tradition by speaking
hours before the game about the death of sports agent Robert
Fraley, who represented both coaches. Fraley died earlier in the
day in the plane crash that also killed U.S. Open champion Payne
Stewart.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Week 7 wrap-ups
Week 7 infirmary report
TJ's Take: Clash of the Titans
Week 7 stats leaders
Week 7 PrimeTime Players
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Chad Scott talks about stopping the Falcons at the goal line.
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