Steelers Rewrite Script

Kordell Stewart didn’t wait until the second half to start playing, and John Elway uncustomarily stopped before the fourth quarter. Suddenly, the road to the playoffs may be exactly that for the Denver Broncos.

Stewart, beating Elway at his own comeback game, threw three touchdown passes to Yancey Thigpen in the first half, then ran for two scores as the host Pittsburgh Steelers rallied for a 35-24 victory Sunday that might cost Denver home-field advantage in the postseason.

“Usually, teams don’t respect Kordell as a passer and they want him to have the ball in his hands to try to win the game,” said Jerome Bettis, who ran for 125 yards. “But we knew they were going to make a concerted effort to stop the run, and we’d have to throw the ball.”

By squandering a 21-7 lead, the Broncos fell into a first-place tie in the AFC West with Kansas City.

“The type of football we played today won’t get us far,” said coach Mike Shanahan, whose Broncos play at San Francisco next week.

The Steelers, trying for their fifth AFC Central title in six years, wrested first place from Jacksonville. And they clinched a wild-card berth when the New York Jets lost to Indianapolis.

“This means we control our destiny, and it does a lot for our confidence considering we might face Denver again down the line,” defensive back Carnell Lake said.

Stewart, who lead a Steelers comeback of 10 or more points for the fourth time this season, went 18 of 29 for 303 yards. He hit 14 of his last 18 passes, and ran for 49 yards to outduel Elway, the quarterback he admittedly emulated while playing at the University of Colorado.

Elway, so hoarse from a cold he could barely check off at the line of scrimmage, was 17 of 42 for 248 yards and two touchdowns to Rod Smith, but his receivers dropped eight passes.

Chiefs 30, Raiders 0

Rich Gannon ran for a touchdown and threw for another and improved his record to 4-1 in relief of the injured Elvis Grbac. The Chiefs outgained Oakland 418-93, and beat their oldest rival for the 15th time in 17 meetings with 27 first downs to five for the Raiders in their first shutout since 1990.

Dolphins 34, Lions 31

Dan Marino threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns and set up Olindo Mare’s game-winning 42-yard field goal to keep Miami tied for first.

Barry Sanders carried 30 times for 137 yards to break Marcus Allen’s NFL record of 11 consecutive 100-yard games and took over the NFL rushing lead from Denver’s Terrell Davis.

Packers 17, Bucs 6

Brett Favre threw two touchdown passes to become the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 30 TDs in four consecutive seasons as Green Bay won its third straight division title.

The Bucs now have to beat either the Jets on the road or Chicago at home to earn their first playoff berth since 1982.

Giants 31, Eagles 21

In Philadelphia, Tiki Barber ran for 114 yards, Danny Kanell threw three touchdown passes and Jessie Armstead had two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, for New York, which can clinch the NFC East with a win at home next week over Washington.

Armstead led a Giants defense that had three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and four sacks as they all but knocked Philadelphia from the playoff race.

Redskins 38, Cardinals 28

Jeff Hostetler threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns for visiting Washington in his first start in relief of Gus Frerotte, out for the season with a broken hip.

Brian Mitchell returned a punt 63 yards for a score and Cris Dishman scored on a 29-yard interception return as the Redskins stayed a game behind the Giants in the NFC East.

Jake Plummer was 19 of 38 for 337 yards and four touchdowns, three to Rob Moore, for Arizona.

Patriots 26, Jaguars 20

Drew Bledsoe, who has not thrown an interception in his last three games, was 26 of 35 for 234 yards and two touchdowns for New England.

Jacksonville lost for the first time in 13 home games and also missed a chance to clinch a playoff berth.

Colts 22, Jets 14

Marshall Faulk ran for a season-high 133 yards, and Indianapolis registered a season-high eight sacks to win for the eighth time in its last nine visits with the Jets.

The Colts knocked the Jets out of a first-place tie and left them needing to win their two final games to make the playoffs.

49ers 28, Vikings 17

Steve Young threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third as host San Francisco finally beat a team with a winning record, although Minnesota is on a backwards roll - this was the Vikings’ fourth straight loss.

Randall Cunningham played well in his first start since September 1995, completing 16 of 31 passes for 178 yards in relief of Vikings starter Brad Johnson, out for the season.

Falcons 14, Chargers 3

Rookie Byron Hanspard returned the second-half kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown - his second kickoff return for a TD in two weeks - as visiting Atlanta won its fourth straight game, its longest streak since a five-game run in 1991.

San Diego lost its sixth straight, its longest losing streak since 1988.

Bears 20, Bills 3

Erik Kramer passed for 270 yards and two touchdowns for host Chicago. Buffalo couldn’t manage a touchdown against the NFL’s most generous defense.

Rams 34, Saints 27

In New Orleans, Tony Banks engineered three late touchdowns as St. Louis overcame a 27-13 deficit to win its second straight.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SUNDAY’S BEST

Quarterbacks Jake Plummer 19-38-337-4-2 Dan Marino 24-39-310-2-1 Kordell Stewart 18-29-303-3-1 Eric Zeier 17-28-302-1-0

Running backs Barry Sanders 30-137-1 Marshall Faulk 23-133-1 Jerome Bettis 24-125-0

Receivers Yancey Thigpen 6-175-3 Johnnie Morton 9-171-1 Keenan McCardell 11-152-2