PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis hasn't decided if he will retire after this season, but is thinking about it.

Bettis said his health - not whether the Steelers win the Super Bowl - will determine whether he plays in 2005. Bettis missed significant playing time in 2001 and 2002 with groin and knee injuries, but hasn't missed a game since.

Bettis, the NFL's No. 6 career rusher with 13,037 yards, has flourished as a part-time running back the last two seasons.

Bettis ran for 811 yards in 2003 despite backing up Amos Zereoue for six games and has 647 yards and a career-high 12 touchdowns this season, including four consecutive 100-yard games while replacing the injured Duce Staley.

"I'm not getting any younger," said Bettis, who will be 33 in February. "Every time we win it means a lot more because it could be the last one."

The Steelers (12-1) have won a team record-tying 11 in a row to clinch the AFC North title. They can secure a first-round bye as early as this weekend if they beat the Giants (5-8) on Saturday and the Colts (10-3) and Chargers (11-3) each lose or tie.

Bettis isn't thinking this might be his last chance to win a Super Bowl. He reached the AFC Championship game during the 1997 and 2001 seasons, but the Steelers lost at home each time.

"No, I don't worry about it," he said. "If it is, it is. I'm not going to be the sentimental guy to cry after every game. It might not be. I'm not going to worry about it."

Steelers coach Bill Cowher likes having a healthy Bettis for the stretch drive. The last two times the Steelers made the playoffs, in 2001 and 2002, Bettis wasn't a factor during the postseason because of injuries. That limited the offense's ineffectiveness and placed a greater burden on quarterbacks Kordell Stewart (2001) and Tommy Maddox (2002) to generate more offense.

"Jerome Bettis is running very, very well," Cowher said. "It's good to have him healthy, have him the way he is right now."

Bettis averaged 30 carries in his four starts, but has since had only 13 carries for 74 yards in two games. He replaced Staley during Sunday's 17-6 victory over the New York Jets to throw for the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter and run for a touchdown with three minutes remaining.

Staley still seems bothered by his hamstring injury, but Bettis doesn't know if that will translate into more carries as the Steelers close out the regular season against the Giants, Ravens and Buffalo Bills.

"I can't because the minute you expect something, there's a letdown," he said. "If it happens it happens. I've got to go in there with the same mindset that I've always had. It'll work itself out."