Steelers keep Dolphins winless in soggy clash

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Steelers dropped another defeat on Miami on Monday as the hapless Dolphins fell to 0-11 in the National Football League.

In a game delayed 25 minutes by lightning and heavy rain - which made the field an all but unplayable bog - Jeff Reed's 24-yard field goal with 17 seconds to play accounted for all of the points in the Steelers' 3-0 victory.

A new turf pitch was installed over the existing grass at Heinz Field after four high school championship games and a college contest were played on Friday and Saturday.

But the new field didn't drain properly, and almost every play saw new divots torn in the puddle-strewn field.

Reed, who had missed a 44-yard field goal with 29 seconds to play in the third quarter, finally put a score on the board when he connected with the game-winner. That capped a Steelers drive that started at the Miami 42-yard-line and ran almost four minutes off the clock.

The Steelers improved to 6-0 at home this season, 8-3 overall.

Ricky Williams, playing in his first NFL game since January 1, 2006, because of repeated violations of the league's substance abuse policy, ran for 15 yards on six carries for Miami.

Williams left the game with a shoulder injury in the second quarter after he was stepped on during a play.

Williams had been moved to the Dolphins active roster earlier Monday, 12 days after he was reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

AFP

(China Daily 11/28/2007 page24)