Steelers hand Vikings their first loss

Steelers 27, Vikings 17

PITTSBURGH -- This time, there was no magic in Brett Favre's right arm and no dramatic finish to keep the Minnesota Vikings unbeaten. The Pittsburgh Steelers converted two fourth-quarter turnovers by Favre into long touchdowns and beat the Vikings, 27-17, Sunday at Heinz Field to hand Favre his first defeat as Minnesota's quarterback.

"It's unfortunate both of those happened," Favre said. "Give those guys credit for making the play. . . . They played the same scheme they always play. It really comes down to physically beating them at what they do. They're as good as I thought they would be, and we didn't make enough plays."

The Vikings had won their first six games of the season after luring Favre out of his second retirement. They'd beaten the San Francisco 49ers on a last-second touchdown pass by Favre, and they'd benefited from a missed field goal by the Baltimore Ravens that would have beaten them. But it was the Pittsburgh defense that made the decisive plays, not Favre and the Vikings.

The defending Super Bowl champions got a 77-yard touchdown by LaMarr Woodley after he scooped up the ball on a fumble by Favre, and an 82-yard touchdown by fellow linebacker Keyaron Fox on an interception of a deflected pass thrown by Favre. Both touchdowns came in the final 6 1/2 minutes, and allowed the Steelers (5-2) to overcome an 88-yard touchdown on a fourth-quarter kickoff return by Vikings rookie Percy Harvin.

"Our defense, that's what we're known for," Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward said. "For them to respond against a great team like the Vikings and give us two touchdowns, we'll take that all day."

The Pittsburgh defense hasn't always been dominant this season. But the Steelers more than did the job defensively Sunday. Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson managed only 69 rushing yards on 18 carries. Favre amassed 334 passing yards. But he had to throw the ball 51 times to do it. He didn't have a touchdown pass, and he had the two key turnovers. Favre also was sacked four times.

"I thought we did a good job all around," Woodley said. "We started hitting Brett Favre and making him throw the ball faster. We gave up a lot of points in the fourth quarter in some games this season. But last week we made improvement, and this week we made real improvement."

The Steelers struggled on offense. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sacked three times and threw for only 175 yards. He did throw a 40-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Mike Wallace in the final minute of the first half. But otherwise the Pittsburgh offense managed only two field goals by kicker Jeff Reed. Tailback Rashard Mendenhall lost a costly fourth-quarter fumble at Minnesota's 4-yard line with the Steelers trying to add to a 13-10 lead.

The Vikings crafted a long drive after Mendenhall's fumble and appeared to take the lead on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Favre to wide receiver Sidney Rice. But the play was negated by a tripping penalty called on tight end Jeff Dugan, and a few snaps later Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel knocked the ball from Favre's hand to set up Woodley's touchdown.

"I've seen James [Harrison] and LaMarr do that all the time, when you're coming around the outside and reach for the ball," Keisel said. "Sometimes the bounces go your way. . . . That's a legendary guy. I was thinking about that this morning. To be able to compete against him [Favre] and make a few plays was a dream come true."

Harvin took the kickoff that followed Woodley's touchdown and kept the Vikings in the game, weaving his way around Steelers' would-be tacklers for a touchdown that got Minnesota back to within 20-17. Dugan, rushing down the field to attempt to block for Harvin, knocked down back judge Rich Reels on Harvin's touchdown, and Reels remained on the turf for a few minutes before being helped to his feet and walking off the field to leave the game.

The Vikings forced a Steelers' punt and moved to the Steelers 19-yard line with a little more than a minute left in the game. Favre tried to dump a short pass to running back Chester Taylor. But the ball bounced off Taylor's hands. Fox made the grab on the carom, and raced to the opposite end zone to seal the outcome.

"Brett tried to squeeze that pass in there," Fox said. "It bounced right into my hands, and all I saw in front of me was green grass."

Said Peterson, who had a two-yard touchdown run for the Vikings in the first half: "We knew what a tough game it was going to be. We had opportunities to put the game away. We just didn't take advantage."

For Favre, there won't be much time to lament this one. His return to Green Bay to face his former team, the Packers, comes next Sunday; he came oh-so-close to taking an undefeated team to Lambeau Field.

"It's disappointing," Favre said. "Physically we knew it would be a Pittsburgh matchup. That's what they do. I thought we answered the call for the most part. We just didn't make enough plays. . . . We had our chances.

"I thought our effort was outstanding. Give these guys credit. They're Super Bowl champions. That's why. They make plays. It's not always pretty, but they make plays when they need to. . . . We needed to get more points in the red zone. We didn't need to give up a fumble for a touchdown."

maskem@washpost.com