Steelers Revel Over Their ’89 Revival

HOUSTON —  Virtually no one is more surprised about the Pittsburgh Steelers being in the NFL playoffs than the players themselves.

Not the Cincinnati Bengals, who had a 5-1 AFC Central Division record (Pittsburgh was 1-5), but failed to make the playoffs.

Not the Houston Oilers, who beat the Steelers twice during the regular season and play them again in today’s AFC wild-card game at the Astrodome.

“I know it shocked the (NFL) teams, people, everybody, after the way we started,” rookie running back Tim Worley said Friday. “At the beginning of the year, even us teammates thought we’d finish last in the whole league.

“We were playing so terrible at first, the only way we could go was up.”

But the Steelers surprised themselves after losing to Cleveland, 51-0, and Cincinnati, 41-10, in their first two games.

Pittsburgh won five of its last six games, losing only to Houston in that stretch.

The Pittsburgh victories were against non-playoff teams with a composite record of 28-52.

The Steelers didn’t qualify until Monday night when Minnesota eliminated 1989 Super Bowl finalist Cincinnati. Pittsburgh (9-7) didn’t rise above .500 until the next-to-last week of the season.

But the Steelers aren’t turning down their first playoff berth since 1984.

“We’re very excited about it,” Coach Chuck Noll said. “We are happy we’re in the playoffs, we’re happy we’re playing Houston. Any place at all would be fine and there’s nothing wrong with the Astrodome.”

The Steelers are among the youngest teams in the league with three rookie starters and 12 rookies on the roster. They also started the season with new defensive coaches, a new system and the unfamiliarity showed.

Worley reported late to training camp but eventually learned his assignments and became the team’s leading rusher with 770 yards on 195 carries.

“I was lost,” he said. “But I guess Chuck believed in me and the only way he figured I could learn was to keep me in there and make the mistakes and learn from them. That’s what I did.”

The Steeler defense caught on to coordinator Rod Rust’s system and helped the turnaround. Over the last seven games, Pittsburgh allowed just 33 points in the second half.

Pittsburgh has 42 takeaways on 21 interceptions and 21 fumble recoveries. Its plus-11 ratio tied Denver for the AFC lead.

The offense also came around in the second half of the season. It yielded 32 sacks in the first eight games and 19 in the last eight.

“We just came together and decided we were better than we had showed on the field at the beginning of the year,” Worley said. “All of a sudden, there was a turnaround.”

The Steelers and Oilers enter the game going in opposite directions.

Houston went into its final two regular-season games with a 9-5 record, needing a victory over Cincinnati or Cleveland to win its first-ever AFC Central title.

But the Oilers sustained two devastating losses and have spent the week trying to regroup.

“Those guys are sky high because they haven’t been to the playoffs,” Houston running back Mike Rozier said. “They are a little higher than us right now. We’ve got to get focused for this game.”

The Oilers, in the playoffs for the third straight year, beat the Steelers 27-0 and 23-16 this season.

“It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve beaten them, it’s a whole new season now,” Rozier said.

The Oilers have played their best games after their worst performances and they’re counting on their resiliency once again.

“We’ve always been a loose team and that’s going to help us this week,” center Jay Pennison said. “This team can’t play well when it’s tight. By Sunday, we’ll be ready.”

The Pittsburgh offense, ranked last among the 28 NFL teams in the regular season, will try to crack the Houston defense, ranked 13th.

Pro Bowl starter Warren Moon is second among AFC passers with an 88.9 quarterback rating and the Oiler offense ranks No. 9 in the NFL.

Worley, although a rookie, spoke out before the turnaround.

“When you are getting your butt beat, you can’t get anything done,” Worley said. “Getting hit behind the line, you’ve got to say something.

“Maybe it was wrong, maybe it was right, but there was a change.”