Eagles Must Stop `The Bus`

The Pittsburgh Steelers finally allowed themselves to say the word. The Philadelphia Eagles still bring themselves to utter it, mostly because coach Andy Reid won`t let them. Playoffs.

When the NFL season began nearly 2« months ago, the Eagles (6-4) and Steelers (5-4) didn`t realistically expect to still be in playoff contention going into Sunday`s sure-to-be-low scoring game at Three Rivers Stadium.

Guess again, even if it would seem two teams with such glaring offensive deficiencies wouldn`t dare be thinking of playing past the holidays.

"Coach (Bill Cowher) told us that, basically, if you want to go to the playoffs, we can go to the playoffs," Steelers tackle Wayne Gandy said.

Remarkably, they could, despite starting 0-3 after losing 19 of their previous 32. The turnaround has been led by a defense that has held five consecutive opponents without a touchdown, the Steelers` longest such stretch since the Steel Curtain defense of 1976 had a 22-quarter streak.

The Eagles, absent from the postseason since 1996, also seemed to have little chance of extending their season once leading rusher Duce Staley was injured. They had no idea where the yards might come from, much less the victories.

The difference has been quarterback Donovan McNabb, who has made something out of an offense that seemed to have nothing, throwing for 12 touchdowns and rushing for three more while leading the Eagles in rushing.

His creativity, combined with one of the NFL`s best pass rushes, has the Eagles thinking playoffs for the first time since 1996. Even if they`re not talking about them.

"Honestly, I don`t look ahead," Reid said. "You can`t do that. I`ve been there. I can`t do it. It messes you up."

So might a tough remaining schedule that includes Washington (6-4) and Tennessee (8-1).

Cowher has finally allowed the word playoffs to creep into his vocabulary, challenging the Steelers after a last-minute 9-7 loss in Tennessee to win their final seven games. That defeat ended a five-game winning streak, their longest since 1997.

"Cowher came to us and said we`re going to run the table, and that`s what we intend to do," safety Lee Flowers said. "As far as we are concerned, we are going to win these next seven games. And if we win these next seven games, we are going to be in the playoffs no matter what."

The Steelers` schedule also isn`t easy, with Oakland (8-1) and Washington (6-4) at home and the New York Giants (7-2) on the road.

However, they would seem to have an edge Sunday: Their strength is the Eagles` weakness. The Steelers have yielded nine or fewer points in their last five games, while the Eagles _ with virtually no running game to keep the pressure off McNabb _ have been limited to 16 or fewer points in three consecutive games.

"They don`t make many mistakes and they`re confident," Eagles center Bubba Miller said. "It`s going to be tough for us. They haven`t given up a touchdown in five games. There`s no way we can go in there and not execute and expect to play well."

The Steelers offense, however, isn`t much better than Philadelphia`s, ranking 25th overall and 30th in passing. Jerome Bettis has four 100-yard games but, due to injuries, finds himself running behind the No. 3 fullback and No. 2 center.

Starting fullback Jon Witman (broken leg) is out for the year and center Dermontti Dawson (hamstring) could be out that long, too, leaving rookie free agent fullback Dan Kreider and backup center Roger Duffy as Bettis` straight-ahead blockers.

Bettis` biggest worry, however, is a passing offense that has never gotten off the ground. Kordell Stewart was only 7-of-22 for 112 yards against Tennessee, and his inability to throw allowed the Titans to stack up against the run.

"When we struggle is when we can`t throw the ball," Bettis said.

The Eagles will blitz Stewart. Defensive end Hugh Douglas leads the NFL with 13 sacks.

"We just need to go out and play a little better and put points on the board so our defense isn`t out there trying to hold teams to field goals all day," Stewart said.

Because even one touchdown and a couple of field goals might be enough to win.

"We can`t give up any points," Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter said. "We have to play our best game of the year as a defense."

(Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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