By David Ginsburg
The Associated Press

BALTIMORE - Their 0-2 start is now almost forgotten. After another impressive showing Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers stand alone atop the AFC North.

Tommy Maddox completed his first 11 passes and the Steelers scored touchdowns on their first four possessions Sunday in a 31-18 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

After coming within one win of reaching the Super Bowl last year, the Steelers opened this season with two straight losses. But Pittsburgh (4-3) has since regained its stature as a contender.

"You saw what a championship-caliber team looked like in the first half," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "Our guys got schooled."

Maddox threw two touchdown passes to Plaxico Burress, and Amos Zereoue ran for two scores as Pittsburgh took a 28-3 halftime lead. It was the Steelers' most productive first half since Sept. 8, 1996, when they scored 28 against the Ravens.

Pittsburgh, 3-1 since Maddox replaced an ineffective Kordell Stewart as the starter, has outscored the opposition 93-35 during its current three-game winning streak.

"O-2? I don't even remember that. As far as I'm concerned, right now we're just 4-1," linebacker John Fiala said.

Maddox, a former XFL star who rejuvenated his career in Pittsburgh, isn't about to start celebrating with nine games to go.

"We still know we've got a lot of football left. We can't start to feel real good about it or relax," he said. "We've got to continue to get better and better and continue to do the little things right."

The Steelers did very little wrong in the first half, when Maddox picked apart a Baltimore defense that was forced to play a third straight week without Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis.

"It's just one of those games where I'm seeing the field really well," Maddox said. "It was a lot of fun."

Maddox left with a sprained left ankle midway through the third quarter but returned with 11 minutes remaining and finished 18-for-24 for 172 yards.

Zereoue, subbing for an injured Jerome Bettis, ran for 53 yards as Pittsburgh improved to 6-1 against the Ravens in Baltimore.

"I love playing against Baltimore. I've never lost here and I never want to," Burress said. "They don't like us and we don't like them. It's that simple."

Burress was ejected during a second-quarter altercation that also brought about the ejection of Baltimore's James Trapp, but by then the Steelers had a comfortable lead.

"Keeping your cool when someone's just stepped on your head with both feet is kind of hard to do," Burress said.

Baltimore (3-4), which began the day tied with Pittsburgh for the division lead, also played without quarterback Chris Redman (back injury).

Redman was replaced by Jeff Blake in a decision made shortly before the game began. Blake went 29-for-50 for 298 yards, passed for a touchdown and ran for another in his first NFL start since November 2000 with New Orleans.

But he also threw three second-half interceptions.

"I don't think I was rusty. I just forced it instead of throwing the ball away," he said.

The Ravens also lost two fumbles - one set up a Pittsburgh score and the other ruined a promising drive.

"They didn't stop our offense. We stopped ourselves," Blake said.

Blake's 12th career rushing touchdown, a 1-yarder with 11:11 left, made it 31-18. But Jamal Lewis fumbled at the Pittsburgh 31 with 4:39 left, effectively ending the Ravens' comeback bid.

The Steelers made it look easy on their opening possession, moving 68 yards in five plays to go up 7-0. Maddox went 3-for-3 on the drive, which Zereoue ended with a 35-yard run behind a solid block from fullback Dan Kreider.

It was the third straight game in which Pittsburgh scored a TD on its first possession. There were more to come.

After a Baltimore punt, Maddox completed four passes for 63 yards - including a beautiful 20-yard TD throw to a diving Burress - in an 80-yard drive that made it 14-0.

Robert Tate fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, and on the first play of the second quarter, Maddox and Burress hooked up for a 9-yard touchdown.

After the Ravens scored a field goal, Antwaan Randle El took the kickoff past midfield and Pittsburgh went up 28-3 on a 2-yard TD run by Zereoue.

Notes

Zereoue's first score was the longest TD run of his career. ... The Steelers have scored at least 28 points in each of Maddox's four starts. ... The crowd of 68,638 tied the largest in Ravens history.

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