The Steelers resumed their assault on the Rams defense with  Ben  Roethlisberger’s  17-yard pass to Santonio Holmes and an 18-yard run  by Najeh Davenport, who is subbing for Willie Parker — who is done for the year with a broken fibula.

Pittsburgh just kept pounding away with power running (Davenport again and again) and Roethlisberger’s accurate passing. The Steelers capped their impressive 10-play, 69-yard TD drive with Davenport’s 1-yard plunge.

With 9:22 left in the quarter, the Steelers led 31-17.

The Rams tried to respond. Marc Bulger got a first down with another  completion to tight end Randy McMichael.  He dialed up another first down with an 18-yard completion to Isaac Bruce.

He just missed a deep shot to Torry Holt, then hooked up with Bruce for 19 more yards. This Bruce kid looks pretty good tonight, no?

That catch moved Ike to sixth on the NFL’s career receptions list.

A  shovel pass to Jackson nearly ended disastrously as Jackson coughed up the ball. But teammate Dane  Looker recovered it to keep the drive alive.

Hey!  Look at that! A  touchdown pass to Drew Bennett! He ran the route well and caught the ball!  So the season hasn’t been a total loss.

That cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 31-24.  And the Rams defense responded, getting a stop with La’Roi Glover earning his second  sack of the game.

On a tough third-and-7 play,  Bulger  countered a blitz with an 11-yard completion to  a leaping McMichael. Nice read, nice throw and nice catch.