EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Curtis Martin dashed through the snow into some pretty exclusive company.
Martin rushed for 174 yards and Doug Brien kicked a pair of field goals to lead the New York Jets to a rare victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 6-0, in a game played in a snowstorm.
A native of Pittsburgh, Martin went over the 1,000-yard mark for the ninth straight season, joining Barry Sanders as the only players to accomplish the feat in each of their first nine years in the league. Sanders did it in his first 10 years. Martin reached the milestone on an eight-yard run in the second quarter and received a warm ovation from the sparse crowd at Giants Stadium.
"My goal was to get some good footing. It was like a childhood game. We just had fun out there," said Martin, who relished being in the same company of Sanders. "It's something I feel good about. This one is kind of special to me. Only one other person in the world has done this."
The Jets (6-8) defeated the Steelers for just the second time in 16 all-time meetings and posted their first shutout since a 24-0 win over Miami on November 18, 2001.
New York has struggled defensively all season, but the inclement conditions clearly hampered the Steelers (5-9), especially kicker Jeff Reed, who missed field goals of 43 yards in the first quarter and 20 yards in the fourth.
"I'm tough on myself. I didn't come through for the team," Reed said. "If I would have made six points, we could have easily won the game."
Pittsburgh was shut out for the first time since a 16-0 loss to Baltimore on September 3, 2000.
The weather did not seem to bother Martin, who carried 30 times, including a 56-yard jaunt in the fourth quarter. It was Martin's fourth 100-yard game of the season, 33rd as a Jet and 47th of his career. He has 11,488 yards in his career and moved past John Riggins for 11th place on the all-time list.
"Curtis does things right. He's a professional in everything he does," said Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, who completed 15-of-25 passes for 144 yards.
Pittsburgh squandered several opportunities, including a first-and-goal inside the New York 5 that ended with Reed's 20-yard miss.
The Jets controlled the ball for the first 6:40 of the game, marching 56 yards in 12 plays before Brien kicked a 28-yard field goal.
Pennington found Martin out of the backfield for a 29-yard gain late in the second quarter, leading to a 41-yarder by Brien that gave the Jets a 6-0 halftime lead.
Jerome Bettis of the Steelers saw limited action in the fourth quarter due to a knee injury and had 68 yards in 16 carries. He moved past former Steelers great Franco Harris and into eighth-place on the all-time rushing list with 12,184 yards.
