PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't even need their fabled Three Rivers Stadium advantage yesterday.

The fans were too busy booing the inept showing of the Steelers' offense and their quarterback, Kordell Stewart, to bother the Ravens.

"It wasn't very loud," said tight end Brian Kinchen. "You could hear all the snap counts and everything. It didn't really bother us today."

What bothered the Ravens was the Ravens. This was a replay of their 12-8 loss to the Tennessee Oilers seven days earlier. The Ravens once again beat themselves in a 16-6 loss to the Steelers. The Steelers were missing five starters, including bruising running back Jerome Bettis, and still found a way to win.

The Steelers made only one offensive play all day -- a 55-yard touchdown pass from Stewart to Charles Johnson -- but that was enough to win because their defense became the latest team to handcuff the Ravens' offense.

Pittsburgh stretched the Ravens' string of quarters without an -- offensive touchdown to 10. The physical Steelers put 10 Ravens on the injury list, not counting Jay Graham, who strained his knee during pregame warm-ups.

This was a significant loss for two reasons. No. 1 involves the quarterbacks. Eric Zeier -- who was yanked, came back and was then injured -- flunked his test to prove he can be the quarterback of the future. And Captain Comeback, Jim Harbaugh, was ineffective in a comeback attempt. The bottom line is the team doesn't have a quarterback who has proved he can win for them.

The second reason is that it puts even more heat on coach Ted Marchibroda, who's 2-4 and looking at a 2-6 mark at the halfway mark with Green Bay and Jacksonville coming up.

The problem is that firing Marchibroda probably won't solve anything. The last two times Marchibroda was pushed out the door, in Baltimore in 1979 and in Indianapolis in 1995, the teams collapsed to 2-14 and 3-13, respectively, within two years. This game showed that the Ravens really need more playmakers on offense. But it's easier to fire the coach than find playmakers.

Highlights and lowlights of a game that once again showed that the Ravens don't have an offense:

Turning point: The Ravens were protecting a 6-3 lead at the start of the third quarter when the Steelers faced a third-and-five play at their 45. Johnson escaped from Duane Starks at the line of scrimmage, broke open and Stewart simply lofted the pass to him for a play that went 55 yards for the game's only touchdown.

Starks said Johnson held him, but hand fighting at the line of scrimmage is normal.

"That's part of football. That's what playing the position is all about," Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis said of Starks' rookie mistake. It didn't help that the Ravens didn't get to Stewart with the blitz on the play. "It's always not one guy," Lewis said. "I wish we would have sacked the quarterback."

Quarterback controversy: What the Ravens have now is more a problem than a controversy at quarterback. Neither Zeier nor Harbaugh was effective, although it didn't help that the Ravens allowed seven sacks.

After Zeier failed to get a touchdown in the first three quarters, Marchibroda went to Harbaugh, who got one first down in three series. He then went back to Zeier for the two-minute drill, but Zeier hurt his thumb. Marchibroda wouldn't name his starter for next week, but Harbaugh may get the call by default because of Zeier's thumb injury.

Red-zone woes: The Ravens continued to have problems inside the 20. They had a first down on the Steelers' 17 late in the first quarter and wound up moving 7 yards backward to the 24 when Zeier was sacked on third down. Matt Stover then kicked a 41-yard field goal.

More red-zone woes: The Ravens had a second-and-eight at the Steelers' 14 on Zeier's final series in the third quarter before he got the hook. Zeier audibled to wide receiver Floyd Turner for a fade route into the corner of the end zone. The Steelers changed their defense and covered that play. Turner appeared to break open when he adjusted inside, but Zeier overthrew him.

On the next play, Zeier drilled a pass toward Michael Jackson. Zeier said it wasn't too low, but it appeared to hit defensive end Kevin Henry in the chest. It popped up and Dewayne Washington intercepted it and returned it 43 yards. The Ravens have been in the red zone 12 times this year and have only two touchdowns to show for it.

Close to the red zone: The Ravens seemed ready for another fiasco inside the 20 when they had a first down at the Steelers' 23 in the second quarter. But Kinchen's false-start penalty moved them back 5 yards and they didn't get to the red zone, so it won't count against their red-zone tally. They wound up at the Steelers' 22 before settling for another field goal.

Running woes: Priest Holmes managed only 76 yards on 23 carries as the offensive line didn't open many holes. "I don't want to point any fingers," said left guard Wally Williams, who then seemed to point fingers at the play-calling. "I'm trying to not say the wrong thing. I think we just need to run the stuff we run best." That's the typical frustration on a losing team. Regardless of the plays, the Ravens aren't executing well.

Tipped: Cornerback Rod Woodson, playing his first game at Three Rivers Stadium since he left the Steelers, almost had an interception on the final play of the first quarter. He leaped to grab one of Stewart's underthrown passes, but it bounced off his hands to Courtney Hawkins for a 48-yard gain. That got the Steelers out of a hole. They would have been forced to punt from their 12 and the Ravens would have gotten the ball near midfield.

Jinx? The Browns/Ravens have lost nine straight plus a 1994 playoff game at Three Rivers Stadium. Overall, they're 4-25 in regular-season games plus a playoff loss since the stadium was built in 1970. The good news is they're going to tear the place down in a few years for a new stadium.

"It was a typical Pittsburgh game. They get the breaks. The ball never bounces our way," Williams said. "That fumble [by Jermaine Lewis in the fourth quarter] brought me back to '93-94 [in Cleveland] when freakish things like that happened. It's typical Pittsburgh bad luck."

Looking ahead: It doesn't get any tougher than this. The slumping Ravens go to historic Lambeau Field to face the Packers on Sunday. Quarterback Brett Favre is in a slump, but it's nothing that can't be cured by the Ravens' secondary. Put Favre down for 300 yards passing.

Pub Date: 10/19/98