By Alan Robinson
The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Steelers keep telling themselves Miami University product Ben Roethlisberger is only a rookie, and they can't expect too much. Apparently, their opponents are unwisely taking the same approach.

Roethlisberger, becoming more comfortable and more productive with each start, confused Cleveland with his running and creativity and the Steelers won their third in a row behind the rookie quarterback, beating the Browns 34-23 Sunday.

Browns safety Earl Little said beforehand that Roethlisberger wasn't Cleveland's biggest worry because the Steelers are asking him only to manage their offense and keep from making mistakes. Turns out the Browns might have underestimated him just a little.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Roethlisberger was 16-for-21 for 231 yards, a touchdown pass and a TD run. And to think he might not be playing if starter Tommy Maddox hadn't hurt his right elbow Sept. 19 against Baltimore.

"Every week is getting better," Roethlisberger said. "It's all just starting to come together."

The Steelers are 4-1 for only the third time in 22 seasons after going 6-10 last season.

Duce Staley complemented "Big Ben" by scoring on a 25-yard run, gaining 117 yards, his third consecutive 100-yard game.

The Browns (2-3) missed a chance to move over .500 after multiple games for the first time since late in the 2002 season and dropped two games behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North.

Some NFL scouts thought Roethlisberger needed the most polishing of the three quarterbacks chosen early in the April draft. Yet while the Giants' more-publicized Eli Manning and the Chargers' Philip Rivers are sitting, Roethlisberger is only the sixth rookie quarterback to win his first three starts since the NFL merger in 1970. Steelers rookie Mike Kruczek was 6-0 in 1976.

"He made a couple of plays that, yeah, you definitely look at and say, 'Boy, this guy can play,' " Steelers center Jeff Hartings said. "The way he throws on the run, being able to stop and sling it 40-50 yards, that's just natural ability. I think Pittsburgh's going to be happy to have him."

With the score tied at 7, Roethlisberger scrambled to elude Ebenezer Ekuban, then was flattened by Orpheus Roye's hit, yet still found Plaxico Burress for 51 yards to the Cleveland 9. A play later, Roethlisberger, apparently not rattled by the hit, powered up the middle on a 6-yard TD run - matching the number of scoring runs the less-mobile Maddox has in 33 games with Pittsburgh.

Cleveland	10	3	3	7-23
Pittsburgh	14	13	7	0-34

First Quarter

Pit-Staley 25 run (Reed kick), 13:40.

Cle-Crocker 20 interception return (Dawson kick), 11:30.

Pit-Roethlisberger 6 run (Reed kick), 7:39.

Cle-FG Dawson 24, 3:49.

Second Quarter

Pit-FG Reed 47, 13:30.

Pit-Burress 37 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), 7:39.

Cle-FG Dawson 34, 2:39.

Pit-FG Reed 26, :00.

Third Quarter

Pit-Bettis 3 run (Reed kick), 8:26.

Cle-FG Dawson 46, 4:42.

Fourth Quarter

Cle-Andre' Davis 7 pass from Garcia (Dawson kick), 8:44.

A-63,609.

	Cle	Pit
First downs	17	21
Total Net Yards	296	401
Rushes-yards	20-98	43-170
Passing	198	231
Punt Returns	2-12	4-12
Kickoff Returns	6-91	6-135
Interceptions Ret.	1-20	0-0
Comp-Att-Int	16-34-0	16-21-1
Sacked-Yards Lost	3-12	0-0
Punts	5-40.6	4-44.8
Fumbles-Lost	1-1	1-0
Penalties-Yards	8-54	6-63
Time of Possession	24:17	35:43

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Cleveland, Garcia 5-41, Suggs 11-30, Green 3-27, Northcutt 1-0. Pittsburgh, Staley 21-117, Bettis 14-34, Roethlisberger 6-13, Haynes 2-6.

PASSING-Cleveland, Garcia 16-34-0-210. Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 16-21-1-231.

RECEIVING-Cleveland, Andre' Davis 5-101, Northcutt 4-33, Suggs 3-20, Shea 1-35, Morgan 1-15, Green 1-3, T.Smith 1-3. Pittsburgh, Burress 6-136, Ward 6-61, Randle El 2-29, Mays 1-6, Haynes 1-(minus 1).

MISSED FIELD GOALS-None.

Game of the Week: Pittsburgh 34, Cleveland 23

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