ESPN NFL

PITTSBURGH - Much has been written concerning a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that statistically rated 20th in the NFL versus the pass in 2002, the worst such ranking ever in the tenure of head coach Bill Cowher, and a number that was a season-long headache.

After all, in Cowher's previous 10 seasons, the team's average rank in pass defense was No. 9. Only twice in that stretch had Pittsburgh finished a year in the bottom half of the NFL in pass defense. Seven times in 10 years the pass defense was in the top 10 and it had never finished lower than 18th.

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