Rookie Steve Breaston returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown and the Arizona Cardinals' defense shut down the Pittsburgh Steelers' high-scoring offense most of the day to hand the Steelers their first loss. "It's obviously a special win for me to beat the Steelers," Whisenhunt said, "but I don't have any animosity toward that football team. ... The thing that I'm the proudest about is that our football team beat a good football team that nobody gave us a chance to do." The Cardinals (2-2) ended Willie Parker's string of four consecutive 100-yard rushing games, limiting him to 37 yards in 18 carries. "That had all the makings of a typical loss," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "By that I mean we weren't able to run the ball successfully, the turnovers that we acquired, we gave up a big play and we had way too many penalties. When you do that, you lose."

Alex Smith and his 49ers looked awful on Bill Walsh Field until the very last minute. Arnaz Battle scored on a 1-yard end-around with 22 seconds to play, and the 49ers emerged from an awful offensive night with an 86-yard scoring drive to cap a 20-17 victory over the Cardinals in the NFL's final opener Monday night.

The Cardinals have claimed defensive end Quentin Moses and wide receiver Jehreme Urban off waivers. To make room on the roster, the team placed defensive end Chike Okeafor on injured reserve and released tight end rookie Ben Patrick.