PITTSBURGH - Eagles receiver Terrell Owens never made it to the end zone on Sunday, so Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward borrowed Owens' post-touchdown act.

Ward ran for one score and caught a pass for another as the Steelers beat the previously undefeated Eagles 27-3, the second previously unbeaten team they've defeated on consecutive weeks.

After each touchdown, Ward put the ball down in the corner of the end zone, turned to the stands and did Owens' traditional touchdown dance, flapping his arms to imitate an eagle flying.

"I wasn't trying to show him up," Ward said. "I see him having fun when he's doing it. What better way to do it than when he's out there?"

Ward and Owens sometimes work out together in the offseason and have a good relationship. Owens said he had no objection to Ward's taking his dance, even though Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was upset when Owens copied him the week before.

"It was fun," Owens said. "Hines and I are good friends. I didn't have a problem with it. I'm not one of those people who's going to take offense to whatever they're doing. He did what he did for their team. He was out there having fun and that's what I do."

After a touchdown, Ward usually heads for the stands and hands the ball to someone wearing a jersey with his No. 86 on it, and he did after scoring his second touchdown.

"It's a free world," Owens said. "You can do whatever you want. I wish I could have been on the receiving end of some of that."

Ward and Owens spoke before and after the game.

"He's the best wide receiver in the game," Ward said.

The Steelers knew it was their day when they sustained drives and wore out the Eagles defense, possessing the ball for 17 of the first 19 minutes.It was pointed out to guard Alan Faneca that all seven of the players in the Philadelphia defensive front dropped to one knee to catch their breath during a time out."We did notice that," Faneca said. "And we were ready for the time out to be over with. The longer they're on the field, the worse it is for them and the better it is for us. That's demoralizing to a defense."The Steelers held a huge edge in time of possession, 41:19 to 18:11. They are back to what's been the trademark of the team, establishing a strong running game to open up other possibilities for the offense.Ken Whisenhunt is in his first year as offensive coordinator, taking over after Mike Mularkey moved to Buffalo to become the Bills' coach. At least one player thinks the change in coordinators has been positive."I feel like personally, I go into the game knowing what we're trying to do," guard Keydrick Vincent said. "Last year I didn't feel that way, so hat's off to the coordinator. I know if he says he's going to run the ball, he's going to call the run. It's a big difference, knowing what you're going to do and then going out and doing it."The Steelers' 7-1 start is rooted in last year's disappointing 6-10 record. They were 2-6 midway through last season.

The Steelers have beenaround since 1933 and played more than 1,000 games, but they established a franchise first Sunday by not punting.The previous record of one punt attempt was done five times, most recently on Dec. 1, 2002 at Jacksonville.Punter Chris Gardocki wasn't completely idle. He's the holder on place kicks and Jeff Reed was 2-for-3 on field goals and made three extra points.

The Steelers have theAFC's best record (7-1) after beating undefeated teams in consecutive weeks, none of which seems to impress the players."It's the halfway point of the season," receiver Plaxico Burress said. "We still have eight more games to play. I think the guys in this locker room know that and know that everybody is going to try to knock us off."After playing four of five games at home, the Steelers will play just three of their last eight games at home. They're on the road against AFC North rivals Cleveland and Cincinnati the next two weeks after previously beating both teams at home."The hype is all behind New England and Philadelphia," linebacker Joey Porter said. "But the real hype should be Cleveland. This is a rivalry game and it's a conference game. For us to have success, that makes them get geared up more to come after us, so we're going to get their best shot."After beating New England (34-20) and Philadelphia in successive weeks, it would appear the Steelers can play with the league's elite teams."Early in the season people were saying, 'Who are they playing?'" running back Jerome Bettis said. "This gives us the opportunity to show that Pittsburgh Steelers football can be played against anybody."

Owens is one of the NFL'smost dangerous receivers, but the Steelers insisted they didn't put anything special into their game plan to neutralize him.As it turned out, the Steelers were effective in keeping Philadelphia's offense off the field."We controlled the clock," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said. "We played our defense."

Bettis has 44 100-yardgames with the Steelers. The franchise record is 47 by Franco Harris. ... Ward needs 2 rushing yards to surpass Louis Lipps' team record of 388 yards rushing by a receiver. ... Linebacker Kendrell Bell was on the Steelers' active roster for the first time this year after recovering from hernia surgery. He had been out since the first exhibition game.