PITTSBURGH - This was the game that would expose Ben Roethlisberger as just another rookie. Surely, he couldn't handle the Patriots' complex and innovative defense, or the pressure of trying to end the NFL's longest winning streak ever.

Maybe somebody should tell the Pittsburgh rookie quarterback it's not supposed to be this easy, not even for a player whose own winning streak is nearly as long as the New England streak he just ended.

Proving he can be just as good against a Bill Belichick-coached team as he is against the Browns and the Bengals, Roethlisberger played like an imperturbable veteran - something two-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady of New England did not do - in Pittsburgh's surprisingly easy 34-20 victory Sunday.

Just like that, the Patriots' 21-game winning streak and NFL-record 18-game regular-season run ended, largely because of a rookie who further enhanced his ever-growing reputation by making the defending Super Bowl champions look very ordinary.

Roethlisberger became the first quarterback to win his first five NFL starts since the Steelers' Mike Kruczek was 6-0 in 1976, completing 18 of 24 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. In his last two games, he's 39-of-49 - the kind of numbers associated with a quarterback in a low-risk West Coast offense, not one that constantly looks to get the ball downfield to ace receivers Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress.

"I heard those experts talking on TV that he can't beat a Bill Belichick defense," said Plaxico Burress, who connected with Roethlisberger on two first-quarter touchdown pass plays as Pittsburgh opened a 21-3 lead. "But they're finding out around the league."

Here's what they're learning: the Patriots (6-1) might not necessarily be the team to beat in the AFC, not with the Steelers (6-1) off to their best start since their 1978 Super Bowl champions started 7-0.

"It definitely was a statement game for us," Steelers linebacker Joey Porter said. "Each game it gets bigger."

He's not kidding. After becoming the first team to beat the Patriots since Washington edged them 20-17 on Sept. 28, 2003, the Steelers will face the NFL's only remaining unbeaten team, Philadelphia (7-0), next Sunday.

Surely, Roethlisberger couldn't take out what arguably are the NFL's two best teams in as many weeks - or could he?

"You can't describe his effort," receiver Hines Ward said. "He's 5-0, and he's earning a lot of respect on this team. The guys on this team are fighting hard for him."

No doubt the Steelers got a big lift when they learned that Corey Dillon, coming off consecutive 100-yard games, was being held out with a thigh injury. They got another one when Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law injured his left foot in the first quarter, allowing Roethlisberger and Burress to pick on backup Randall Gay for a 47-yard scoring pass play.

Brady's turnovers on consecutive New England plays - a fumble and Deshea Townsend's 39-yard interception return for a touchdown - quickly made it 21-3 later in the first quarter. By then, New England fans were realizing that, on the same week the Red Sox won the World Series, maybe it was too much to expect all this winning to continue.

"It was never about the streak, that was never part of our preparation," linebacker Mike Vrabel said. "It wasn't this week against the Steelers, either - we just didn't play well enough to win, that's it."

With Dillon out and the Patriots way behind early, they didn't even try to run backup Kevin Faulk; their six rushing attempts were three fewer than the franchise's previous single-game low in a 1996 game against Denver.

"We got behind to a very good team," Brady said. "We made it tough on ourselves. We dug ourselves a big ditch and we couldn't find our way out of it."

Notes:

Predictably, the Steelers kept it on the ground much of the second half as Duce Staley ran for 125 yards in his fourth 100-yard game. Jerome Bettis, used mostly as a goal-line runner this season, added 65 yards - one more than in his first five games combined. ... Roethlisberger has won his last 18 starts, counting his final 13 college games at Miami of Ohio. ... The Roethlisberger-to-Burress scoring pass was the longest against New England since a 52-yarder by San Diego's Drew Brees to Curtis Conway on Sept. 29, 2002.