Grading the Steelers:

Ron Wabby, who is in his 22nd season as the head coach at Brashear High School. His teams have won five City League championships.

Grading the Cardinals:

Jack McCurry, who is in his 26th season as the head coach at North Hills High School. His teams have won four WPIAL titles.

Offense: B

With the running of Jerome Bettis and passing of Tommy Maddox, the Steelers showed glimpses of being the team they were projected to be at the start of the season. Chris Doering's touchdown catch and Hines Ward's two TD receptions were exciting to watch. Maddox's accurate passing was reminiscent of last season.

Offense: D +

The Cardinals led by former Steelers nemesis Jeff Blake struggled for most of the game. Marcel Shipp was effective early in the game, but when the Cardinals fell behind they had to pass on every down. Rookie receiver Anquin Boldin was able to get open but the Cardinals couldn't blocked the Steelers' blitz.

Defense: B

Putting pressure on Jeff Blake and stopping the run were big in keeping Arizona's offense off balance. Jason Gildon's (record) sack set up the Steelers' second score and Brent Alexander's fumble recovery set up the third score. Outside of a late Arizona touchdown, the Steelers' defense dominated. The blitz is back.

Defense: B-

The defense played well except for part of the third quarter. As a matter of fact, the start of the third quarter was a total disaster for the entire Arizona team. On the positive side, Ronald McKinnon's fumble recovery led to a field goal and the Cardinals' secondary did a good job against Plaxico Burress.

Special Teams: B

Even though Jeff Reed missed a 23-yard chip-shot field-goal attempt, the special teams did their part to win the game. The big plus was the 52-yard punt return for a touchdown by Antwaan Randle El. Josh Miller's punting kept Arizona in poor field position most of the game.

Special Teams: D - 

Arizona's special teams were sloppy and ineffective. Scott Player, a usually reliable punter, had an off day. Exciting kick returners Boldin and Josh Scobey never got untracked. Tim Duncan, who was filling in for Bill Gramatica, missed an extra point but the big snafu was giving up a punt return for a score.

Coaching: B

Bill Cowher and his staff worked hard to get

the Steelers turned around. The offense (Mike Mularkey) pulled off a few trick plays and the defense (Tim Lewis) used the blitz to help the Steelers win their third game. The trick now is to keep it going for seven more weeks.

Coaching: C +

Coach Dave McGinnis and his staff had a good offensive game plan. Run Shipp, throw the ball to Boldin and play the field-position game. But the kicking game wasn't good enough. Even the officials seemed to rule against the Cardinals. Consider, fourth-and-inches, and the spot was bad. Then Bryant Johnson's no touchdown was ruled a touchdown and then nullified by a penalty.

Team Score: 82

Team Score: 75

Key

100-95

Super Bowl performance

94-90

Division title contenders

89-80

Wild Card possibility

79-70

Shooting for high draft picks in 2004

69-less

Check waiver wire