The Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. - The Pittsburgh Steelers set the tone in pregame warmups, refusing to back down from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"We don't like them," receiver Hines Ward said. "They don't like us."

That was evident even before Tampa Bay's Nate Webster stirred the Steelers by running through a group of Pittsburgh players during the pregame stretch. Keyshawn Johnson stepped in to help defuse the situation, then Jerome Bettis sent a message by shoving Warren Sapp.

"It was just a matter of who is the bigger bully," Bettis said after Tommy Maddox threw for 236 yards and a touchdown in a 17-7 victory that gave the Steelers the AFC North championship.

"We beat them up down here last year, and they said they were waiting a year for this," Bettis added. "We said: `Hey, we'll see who's a bigger bully.' We came out here and bullied them and showed them that we're the baddest on the block."

Chad Scott returned an interception for a touchdown and the Steelers defense, which appears to be peaking at the right time, forced two fumbles inside the Pittsburgh 10 to frustrate Tampa Bay's effort to come back from a 17-point, first-quarter deficit.

"It's great when people don't give you a chance to win," Ward said. "And to beat them the way we did, it really feels good."

The Bucs (11-4) claimed the NFC South title Sunday when New Orleans lost to Cincinnati, but they were hoping to keep pace with the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers in the race for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

"We had as much to play for as they did. ... There was no letdown," said Bucs coach Jon Gruden, whose team will have to beat Chicago on the road and get help from the New York Jets against the Packers in order to earn the No. 2 seed, which would give them a first-round bye.

"We're still in the thick of things," Gruden added. "We've got to find a way to win a game."

It was the second straight year Pittsburgh (9-5-1) came into Raymond James Stadium and physically whipped the Bucs, who Steelers safety Lee Flowers called "paper champions" who talk a better game than they play.

Flowers' year-old comments were reprinted last week and heightened anticipation for the rematch.

"It's amazing how one little comment can change your life," Flowers said. "You make comments in the heat of the moment. Do I retract them? No, I don't. We've still got to play the game on the field."

Tampa Bay played without quarterback Brad Johnson, who sat out with a severe lower back bruise. Shaun King made his first start in nearly two seasons and struggled against a defense that had only allowed 178 yards in its previous two games.

Scott intercepted King's second pass of the night and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown that made it 14-0. The Steelers also had six sacks, one of them forcing a fumble by Rob Johnson, who replaced King midway through the third quarter.

"We couldn't get anything consistently going. We'd make a couple plays, miss a couple plays," King said. "I think it showed we haven't played together for a while. But it's one of those things you can bounce back from."

Pittsburgh rushed for 220 yards and sacked Johnson 10 times in a 17-10 victory over Tampa Bay last season. The Bucs didn't let Bettis run wild this time, but Maddox completed 17 of 23 passes, including an 11-yard TD throw to Antwaan Randle El on the opening drive.

The Bucs avoided a shutout when Rob Johnson threw an 18-yard scoring pass to Keyshawn Johnson with 1:14 remaining.

Keyshawn Johnson finished with eight receptions for 132 yards. Burress had five catches for 127 yards for the Steelers.

Notes: Bettis rushed for 66 yards on 26 carries. He ran for 143 yards and also threw a touchdown pass against the Bucs a year ago. ... Dexter Jackson's third-quarter fumble recovery extended Tampa Bay's takeaway streak to 40 games, the longest active string in the NFL. ... Simeon Rice had one of Tampa Bay's two sacks, giving him 151/2.

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