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Morriss is the Kentucky football coach who got a victory drenching from his players Saturday only to watch Louisiana State win the game on a 75-yard Hail Mary pass as time expired. His sopping wet shirt was a damp badge of premature celebration by his team.

Although Cowher's shirt remained dry Sunday, celebration had seemed in order for Cowher and his Steelers most of the afternoon at Heinz Field, what with the home folks ahead by 17 points about midway into the fourth quarter.

What unfolded was dreamlike — or nightmarish, depending on your perspective. A punt was fumbled, and before you could say Antwaan Randle El, Atlanta had rallied to forge a 34-34 tie, which held up for the final through a ragged, scoreless overtime.

Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox had set a team single-game record with 473 passing yards. Plaxico Burress set a franchise single-game record with 253 receiving yards, including 50 yards on a Hail Mary reception that carried to the Atlanta 1-yard line as overtime ended. They couldn't produce a win.

"We did not lose today," Cowher said after the game. "We squandered an opportunity, but we did not lose this football game. When the standings come out (today), we have three losses. That's all I know."

Then loudly, Cowher reiterated, "It's not a loss."

He followed that with a soft, "It's not a win."

Rah, rah.

It felt like a loss to Cowher's players, who were not shy about saying so.

"It's a loss for me because we should have won the game," Hines Ward said. "You put up almost 500 yards of offense (actually 645), you expect to win the ballgame.

"When everybody's putting up career days, you expect to win the ballgame."

When the offense puts up 34 points, linebacker Joey Porter expects the Steelers to be celebrating after the game. They weren't.

"It's a loss for us," he said. "To let them come back from 17, we look at it as a loss."

It was a bitter end to a day of celebration by the Steelers. Burress spun the football on the pocked turf after a 32-yard pass reception in the second quarter. Falcons players jostled for the ball, but the officials concluded the Steelers retained possession because Burress had given himself up in not immediately jumping from the turf even though no Falcons player had touched him down.

It was a reprise of a premature Burress spike two seasons ago in Jacksonville that had cost the Steelers possession of the football.

"I thought (Atlanta defensive back Ray) Buchanan had pushed me down. I guess they didn't see it," Burress said. "You learn from it, but it didn't cost us anything."

Cowher, in a lighter moment, said, "I'd like to go back and challenge the Jacksonville ruling a few years back. We got robbed out of that one."

Some were thinking the Steelers had been robbed yesterday, by their coach.

Cowher's decision to attempt a 48-yard field goal in overtime was being second-guessed even before the Todd Peterson kick was swatted back into his face.

Later, Cowher's decision not to call a timeout before Atlanta's 56-yard attempt late in overtime was also heavily scrutinized. It was even more controversial when the Steelers ended up at the Atlanta 1 as time expired. A timeout could have saved upwards of 40 seconds.

Cowher sighed before answering the timeout question he had to have been anticipating.

"I thought about it, but I didn't want them (Falcons) to think about going for it (a fourth-and-3 at the Steelers 37).

"The way that kid (Michael Vick) was running around, no."

Ironically, Atlanta had called timeout prior to Peterson's attempt early in overtime and Cowher said he never gave any thought to trying to convert a fourth-and-2 during the added think time, even though Peterson already had missed a field goal and had a PAT kick blocked.

Conservative play-calling late in a game when the Steelers seemingly were passing at will and an officiating challenge Cowher later said he regretted making on Antwaan Randle El's fumbled punt, were other areas of debate.

If Randle El hadn't fumbled, Cowher said, he wouldn't have been answering the questions.

If the Steelers had won, they'd have been celebrating.

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