Bargain Qb Keeps Steelers Rolling Tomczak-Led Offense Dominates As Pittsburgh Downs Kansas City

Mike Tomczak has become the antithesis of Neil O’Donnell, who led the Pittsburgh Steelers to last year’s Super Bowl.

Tomczak doesn’t make $25 million like O’Donnell does, nor does he play for a winless team like O’Donnell does. Instead, Tomczak demonstrates how the Steelers plug in new players for old ones and keep on winning.

With Tomczak throwing for 338 yards and Jerome Bettis, another newcomer, gaining 100 yards for the fourth consecutive game, the Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 17-7 Monday night.

“My hat’s off to him,” said Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher, the man who keeps pushing the right buttons. “I guess that the temperature was right tonight for the ball to fly down the field,” said Tomczak, the 33-year-old veteran of four NFL teams and 12 seasons.

It was the fourth consecutive win for last year’s AFC champions after an opening-day loss in Jacksonville and the first loss for the Chiefs in their last 12 regular-season games at Arrowhead Stadium, dating to Dec. 4, 1994.

It was also Kansas City’s second consecutive loss after starting the season with four wins, and left them a game behind Denver in the AFC West.

Tomczak replaced O’Donnell, who signed a $25 million, five-year deal with the 0-6 New York Jets. O’Donnell is currently sidelined with a separated right shoulder and Tomczak, 20 of 32 Monday night, is thriving in Pittsburgh.

“We knew they were going to try to stop and make Mike Tomczak beat them,” Bettis said. “He did that today. He made some big plays, some critical plays, especially on third down.”

“A lot people say this guy can’t do it,” Kansas City’s Joe Phillips said of Tomczak. “He sure showed tonight that he can do it in this league. He did it against us and I feel we’re a good defense.

“It’s frustrating to put them in third and long and then have them convert. You have to give Tomczak the credit. He’s the one who sat back there and executed.”

He had plenty of help.

Bettis, acquired in a draft-day trade with the Rams, gained 103 yards on 27 carries and scored Pittsburgh’s only touchdown, a 6-yard run with 2:41 left in the third quarter.

The offensive line allowed only one sack and that was debatable it came on what might have been a bootleg attempt by Kordell Stewart near the goal line.

Charles Johnson caught six passes for 125 yards and the Pittsburgh defense, minus injured linebacker Greg Lloyd, limited Kansas City to only one trip inside its 20 - the second-quarter drive on which Marcus Allen’s 6-yard TD run gave the Chiefs a 7-0 lead.

It was the 107th rushing TD of Allen’s career, putting him one ahead of Jim Brown and three behind Walter Payton on the career list. Allen also passed Tony Dorsett for second place behind Payton on the all-purpose yardage list.

But that was the lone bright spot for the Chiefs.

“A lot of people weren’t giving us a chance,” said Levon Kirkland, who replaced Lloyd as the leader of the linebacking corps. “We have a lot of guys who have a lot of heart and that made the difference.”

For a long time, it looked like Allen’s touchdown might would hold up.

Pittsburgh got inside the Chiefs’ 5-yard-line three times in the first 42 minutes and came out with just six points - field goals of 21 and 32 yards by Norm Johnson. A third field-goal attempt early in the third quarter was blocked by Kansas City’s Derrick Thomas. Johnson capped the scoring with a 43-yard field goal with 1:10 to play.

The blocked field goal didn’t give the Chiefs the lift they should have received.

Starting at their own 14 on their next possession, the Steelers took just eight plays to score, the biggest a 45-yard pass from Tomczak to Johnson.

Tomczak also had a 12-yard completion to Andre Hastings that put the ball at the 5. One play later, Bettis bulled in for the score and then Tomczak hit Mark Bruener for the two-point conversion that made it 14-7.

This was a game that might have been played in the playoffs last season had the Chiefs not been upset 10-7 by Indianapolis one game short of the AFC championship game.