CLEVELAND, Nov. 14 -- Ben Roethlisberger walked out of Browns Stadium with his head and perfect record intact.
Unfazed by defensive tackle Gerard Warren's pregame threats or anything Cleveland's defense threw at him, Roethlisberger became the first rookie quarterback to begin 7-0 since the NFL's 1970 merger as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Browns, 24-10, Sunday.
Coach Bill Cowher and Jerome Bettis (103 yards rushing) enjoy Pittsburgh's 7th straight win, all with QB Ben Roethlisberger.
(Mark Duncan -- AP)
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| _____ Week 10 Results _____
• Cincinnati 17, Washington 10
• Baltimore 20, N.Y. Jets 17 (OT)
• Chicago 19, Tennessee 17 (OT)
• Indianapolis 49, Houston 14
• St. Louis 23, Seattle 12
• Atlanta 24, Tampa Bay 14
• Jacksonville 23, Detroit 17 (OT)
• New Orleans 27, Kansas City 20
• Pittsburgh 24, Cleveland 10
• Arizona 17, N.Y. Giants 14
• Green Bay 34, Minnesota 31
• Carolina 37, San Francisco 27
• New England 29, Buffalo 6
Monday
• Philadelphia 49, Dallas 21
Open Date
• Miami, Denver, Oakland, S.Diego
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"Ben doesn't get rattled," said wide receiver Hines Ward. "For him [Warren] to make comments like that wasn't very smart. I guess maybe he's jealous of Ben."
He may not be the only one.
Jerome Bettis had two short touchdown runs for the Steelers (8-1), who won their seventh straight game and continued their best start since opening 1978, when they went 9-1.
They did it by taking smash-mouth football to a new extreme. During pregame warmups, Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter punched Browns running back William Green, bloodying is lower lip during their fight.
Both were ejected before the opening kickoff.
After handing New England and Philadelphia their first losses the past two weeks, Pittsburgh figured to be due for a letdown. That will have to wait until next week -- maybe -- as the Steelers remained the NFL's hottest team.
"We haven't done anything yet," Steelers Coach Bill Cowher said. "We're fighting and scratching for everything we can get every week.
"We're not that much better than that team over there."
Bettis, starting for the second straight week in place of the injured Duce Staley, gained 103 yards on 29 carries. He scored on touchdown runs from the 5 and 1 in the first half.
Bettis had a chance to score a third touchdown, but couldn't get over the goal line despite three cracks from the Cleveland 1 in the fourth quarter.
"That's my job, what I'm here for is to be a relief pitcher," said Bettis, now five yards behind Tony Dorsett for fifth on the league's career rushing list.
"This team is special. The guys behind the starters have to help. That happened today. James Harrison had a real good game."
Harrison, who filled in for Porter, had six tackles and one of Pittsburgh's four sacks of Browns quarterback Jeff Garcia.
