PITTSBURGH — With two of their starting receivers sidelined by knee injuries and replaced by rookies, it appeared the Steelers' air attack might be grounded for Thursday's game against the Cleveland Browns.

Santonio Holmes and Nate Washington were determined not to let that happen.

"We just put all the stuff on the table today and we went after it," Holmes said. "We didn't want to let up on those guys at all because they probably felt we stole one from them in Cleveland (a 24-20, come-from-behind win Nov. 19)."

Running back Willie Parker undoubtedly created most of the offense in the Steelers' 27-7 win with a team-record 223 yards on 32 carries, but Holmes and Washington did their parts to fill in for Hines Ward and Cedrick Wilson.

Holmes, the No. 1 draft pick from Ohio State, caught four passes for 81 yards in his first start. His longest catch was 25 yards, which helped to set up a Jeff Reed field goal in the fourth quarter that gave the Steelers a 27-0 advantage.

He also had a catch for 23 yards on a third-and-7 play in the third quarter that kept a Steelers' drive alive before quarterback Ben Roethlisberger capped it with a 2-yard run for a touchdown.

In his second start, Washington, a free agent from Tiffin (Ohio) University, had two catches for 67 yards, including a 49-yard reception that gave the Steelers their first touchdown.

While the two came to the team in vastly different circumstances, their season statistics are quite similar. In 12 games, Holmes has 37 catches for 585 yards and one touchdown. Washington has 32 catches for 580 yards and four touchdowns in the same number of contests.

It might have been a daunting task for the first-year players to step in for their veteran teammates, but they said they knew Ward, Wilson and the coaching staff were sure Washington and Holmes could handle the assignment.

"They have great confidence in us and we have great confidence in each other to come out to play every Sunday or Thursday, like tonight, and get the job done," Washington said.

"The older guys, they look to us when those times come up. They look to us to make plays, and that's what we've done," he added.

"Those guys have a lot of confidence in us," Holmes said. "They wouldn't have given us the opportunity if they didn't have the confidence in us."

Their starting assignments created additional pressure for them, but Washington and Holmes both said the situation had some advantages over their usual role of coming off the bench during games.

"You're definitely going to get a lot of looks when you're the first or second guy," Washington said.

"Any starter will tell you that being on the field a majority of the time will give you a good feel for the game," Holmes said. "When you're in and out, in and out, it kind of slows you down a little bit."