A victory in Jacksonville would be a bonus for them at this point because of all their injuries. They are without their top two running backs, Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall, guard Kendall Simmons, and two-thirds of their starting defensive line will miss a second straight game, nose tackle Casey Hampton and end Brett Keisel.

Starting fullback Carey Davis also appears to be out this week with a severely sprained ankle.

They signed running backs Najeh Davenport and Gary Russell to join the only healthy back left after Monday night's carnage, Mewelde Moore. Still, the pass probably will be their weapon of choice in Jacksonville Sunday night behind the right arm of Ben Roethlisberger, which remains sore from an opening-game injury.

"I guess so," offensive tackle Willie Colon said. "We have to let Ben do what he does. We have to let the receivers run and we have to block."

"When you lose your starting running back, you lose your first-round drafted back, you lose your starting fullback?" Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes asked out loud yesterday. "I mean, what else is there for you to do? You can only throw the ball and hope someone comes in and fills in, like Mewelde did."

They passed at will against Jacksonville last January in their 31-29 playoff loss, with Willie Parker out because of a broken leg. Roethlisberger completed 29 of 42 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns. However, he also was intercepted three times and sacked six times.

"In the playoffs, we went to the hurry-up and the spread and it really got us back in the game," receiver Hines Ward said. "Hopefully, we can learn from that and maybe exploit some things there."

The Steelers have had trouble protecting Roethlisberger this season. He has been sacked 15 times, putting him on a pace for 60, which would easily be the most in team history. Nevertheless, Jacksonville ranks only 24th on defense against the pass in the NFL and the Jaguars have just five sacks through four games. The Jags rank 14th on defense against the run.

"Whatever it takes for that to get done and us to come out with a victory, that's what we need to do," Colon said.

The Steelers have rushed for more yards than any team since the 1970 NFL merger, and they won't turn into a West Coast offense overnight in Jacksonville.

"All in all, this team is not going to change," Ward said. "We're still going to try to run the ball regardless of who is at the running back position. That's what we do, that's what we built this team on. Don't look for us to pass the ball 50 or 60 times, it's not going to happen unless we're behind."

How about 40 Sunday night?

SERIES HISTORY: 21st meeting. Jaguars lead the series 12-8, including victories in the past four meetings, including their only playoff meeting last January. The Steelers are 3-7 in Jacksonville, but they've won two of their past three games there since 2002.