PITTSBURGH - The Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers plan to take the safe, simplified approach to their final exhibition game tonight: One and done.

Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, who threw an unusually high 31 passes last week against the Patriots, and most of the offensive regulars will play one quarter - and only one quarter.

The same goes for Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox, who has thrown 13 fewer passes in three exhibition games than Delhomme did last week alone. Not that Maddox has needed to throw many; in the seven drives he's engineered, the Steelers have three touchdowns, a field goal and a long possession that ended with a fumble.

"When he's played, he's played very well," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said. "His decision making has been good, his accuracy has been good. I think he's where he needs to be. I'm very pleased with him."

While the Panthers regularly play well in games that don't count - they're 3-0, and have won their last eight exhibitions dating to 2002 - the Steelers haven't had a winning preseason since 2001. But they will finish 3-1 if they win tonight.

Cowher won't give any thought to giving his starters any additional playing time so that might happen. Backup quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Brian St. Pierre figure to play a lot, as do backup running backs Verron Haynes, Willie Parker and Dante Brown once Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis leave the game.

All three have been productive, but it's likely only two will make the team unless the Steelers unexpectedly decide to release Bettis during the final roster cuts this weekend.

"It's a difficult situation and a tough decision," Cowher said of having so many running backs. "It's a nice problem to have."

No doubt one Carolina coach John Fox wouldn't mind having.

With starter Stephen Davis out with a sore knee, the Panthers ran for only 51 yards on 17 carries against the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots, with backup DeShaun Foster gaining just 16 yards on 10 carries.

The Panthers are averaging just 3.1 yards per carry in the preseason while they continue to reshape an offensive line that returns only two starters from last season: Jeff Mitchell and Jordan Gross.

"I don't think that's a reason to panic at all," Delhomme said. "I really believe we'll be just fine. You have to realize we haven't game-planned at all yet. It's just running base stuff. We've watched a little bit of film, but not like we will going into (the opener against) Green Bay."

Despite their own offensive line problems, the Steelers are averaging a much-better 4.5 yards per carry. As a result, they've run the ball 121 times and thrown it only 67 times; by contrast, the Panthers have thrown 105 times and run it 71 times.

"I can't say that we'll be pass-heavy, but I can say that we'll use the pass to set up the run a little bit more than last year," Delhomme said. "We still want to pound the football. I'm a firm believer in that."

Pittsburgh's offensive line has been a strength so far despite losing right guard Kendall Simmons to a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago.

A reshaped defense that has two new safeties (Troy Polamalu and Chris Hope) and a new starting outside linebacker (Clark Haggans) has been slower to progress. Haggans will make his first start Thursday after missing the first three exhibition games with a broken hand.

"That process is going to take some time, but they're working at it," Cowher said. "We have some new faces over there and I like the progress they're making."