PITTSBURGH (AP) - Kordell Stewart took nearly all the snaps with the Pittsburgh Steelers' starters in practice for the second straight day Thursday, making it nearly certain he will start Sunday in Jacksonville.
Stewart made his first start since Sept. 29 on Sunday and completed 22 of 26 passes in a 29-21 win over Cincinnati. He also did not throw an interception, which coach Bill Cowher cited as a major reason for the Steelers' fifth win in seven games.
As he has all week, Cowher declined Thursday to identify his starter or to discuss the specifics of his apparent decision to start Stewart rather than Tommy Maddox.
Maddox started seven consecutive games before sitting out against the Bengals, a week after he was briefly paralyzed by a hit in Tennessee. Maddox wants to play in Jacksonville and seems disappointed by the apparent decision to go with Stewart.
If Stewart starts, it might be because Cowher wants to go with the quarterback who is currently playing well - as he did earlier with Maddox - or because he wants to give Maddox another week of rest.
Although Maddox has been cleared by doctors to play and he has no lingering problems from his cerebral and spinal cord concussions, neurosurgeon Joseph Maroon said he would prefer Maddox stay out another week.
Cowher also could be waiting to see if Stewart can keep throwing as accurately as he did in his last two games, when he was 35-of-43. If Stewart struggles, Maddox then could replace him.
Maddox's last start easily was his worst, as he threw three interceptions and completed only 14 of 28 passes in a 31-23 loss at Tennessee. The Steelers trailed 31-7 until Stewart replaced the injured Maddox, throwing for two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions in the fourth quarter.
Maddox said he would remain supportive of Stewart, who also refused to publicly lobby to get his job back after Maddox replaced him as the starter early last month.
"If Kordell's the guy this week, then I'll be over there helping him as much as I can," Maddox said. "It's a big game for us as a team. That's the most important thing, that we go down to Jacksonville and win."
The Steelers (6-4-1) lead Cleveland (6-5) by a half-game in the AFC North. Sunday's game also is important to Jacksonville (5-6), which trails Indianapolis (7-4) in the AFC South by two games with five to play.
