PITTSBURGH — If nothing else, this illustrates how their defense is evolving: the Pittsburgh Steelers gave up 517 yards and 31 points to the New Orleans Saints, yet were happy with the result.

"We gave them too much," linebacker Joey Porter said. "But we won, and that's what counts."

Especially given that the Super Bowl champion Steelers (3-6) had won only one of their previous seven games before beating the Saints 38-31 on Sunday.

The problem is that only their second victory since Sept. 7 didn't legitimately get them back into the AFC North race — they're down four games to Baltimore (7-2) with seven to play — or end one of the worst stretches of defense during the Bill Cowher era.

Winning glossed over some of their ongoing problems, and gave a glimmer of hope they can still make something of a season that seemed lost a week ago. A difficult schedule lightens up in the next few weeks, with two games against division rival Cleveland (3-6) and another against Tampa Bay (2-7).

"Until someone says we're eliminated, we're going to keep playing," Cowher said.

But while the Steelers finally played a game without committing a turnover — they had 10 in their previous two games — they still must be concerned about the dramatic falloff in play by a defense that has been one of the NFL's best for years.

Certainly, turnovers are a big part of the problem, but the Steelers have yielded 62 points in their last two games and 123 in their last four, an average of nearly 31 per game. And that includes a game against Oakland (2-7) and the NFL's lowest-scoring offense.

After giving up 17 or fewer points in three of their first five games, they have given up 31, 31 and 41 during their last four games. They are ninth from the bottom in points allowed after being the third-best a year ago.

Turnovers also don't explain why they're not getting to the quarterback — no Steelers defender has more than 4Z\x sacks — or getting off the field enough on third down (opponents are converting nearly 40 percent of the time).

Are they getting old? A number of their key defensive regulars (Joey Porter, Clark Haggans, James Farrior) will be 30 or older within the next few months. Are opponents finally figuring out how to handle their multiple blitzes? Or have they simply peaked?

"We couldn't get off the field," Farrior complained after the Saints game.

The previous two seasons, the Steelers gave up as many as 31 points only once. This season, they've done that three times in the last month.

"I'm disappointed with the yardage, but I'm really happy with the win," Cowher said. "We've been on the other side of that. I'd rather give up 500 yards of offense and win than give up 98 yards and lose."

Cowher tried a psychological ploy to motivate his defense last week, benching top cornerback Ike Taylor on the first day of practice. Taylor was back in the lineup by Sunday, though he had nearly as rough a day defending against Saints rookie Marques Colston (10 catches) as he did against the Broncos' Javon Walker (2 TD catches) the week before.

But Cowher couldn't bench Taylor on Sunday because concussions to safety Troy Polamalu and starting cornerback Deshea Townsend meant he was using every healthy defensive back he had.

Cleveland, ninth from the bottom with a 16.7 scoring average, doesn't present the worries the Saints' offense did with Colston's size, Drew Brees' playmaking ability and Reggie Bush's speed. But the Steelers have to be concerned with how their defense is playing now that they're into the second half of a season that has yet to turn around.

"We've been faced with all kinds of situations," Porter said. "Guys could have easily folded their tents and started thinking about other stuff. But that's not the makeup of this team. We know what we have here in this locker room. It was only one game, but it's one game we definitely needed. Hopefully it's something we can build on."