PITTSBURGH (AP) -Ronnie Brown had two touchdown runs as the Miami Dolphins took a 17-14 lead over the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers at the end of three quarters of the NFL's season-opening game Thursday night.

Brown had scoring runs of 2 and 5 yards in the second and third quarters, respectively.

His second touchdown came with 6:11 to play in the third quarter on an eight-play drive highlighted by a 52-yard catch and run by Marty Booker on third-and-7 from the Dolphins 23. Booker missed much of the second quarter with a head injury.

The Steelers were at the Miami 25 as the third quarter expired.

Steelers backup quarterback Charlie Batch threw two touchdown passes. Batch, subbing for Ben Roethlisberger, had scoring passes of 27 yards to Nate Washington and 7 yards to Hines Ward. He was 12-for-21 for 112 yards with no interceptions.

Roethlisberger missed the game after surgery Sunday to remove his appendix.

Ward's touchdown reception came with 1:49 to play under the goalposts and was the first of the season for the Super Bowl's most valuable player. It capped a seven-play, 77-yard drive that immediately answered Brown's first scoring run that tied the game at 7 for Miami.

The Pittsburgh drive was kept alive by a 23-yard pass interference penalty on Andre Goodman on third-and-7 from the Miami 30. Goodman was starting only because of an ankle injury to Travis Daniels.

Washington's first regular-season career catch accounted for the game's first score on the second play of the second quarter. Washington, a second-year player, had one reception during the playoffs last season. His score was in the front corner of the right side of the end zone on a third-and-2 play.

Olindo Mare made a 26-yard field goal with 32 seconds left in the half.

The Dolphins' first touchdown came two plays after Wes Welker's 47-yard punt return to the Pittsburgh 15.

Daunte Culpepper was 13-for-23 for 202 yards in his Miami debut. Culpepper, who missed the final nine games of last season after sustaining a knee injury and was traded from the Minnesota Vikings in March, completed passes to seven different receivers.

Neither team established much of a running game early until the Steelers' Willie Parker got going late in the first half. Brown gained only 29 yards on 12 carries, while Parker totaled 90 yards on 22 carries.

The Dolphins had 228 yards of total offense and were 3-for-9 on third-down conversions; the Steelers had 214 yards and were 5-for-11 on third downs.

Joey Porter sacked Culpepper deep in Miami territory midway through the first quarter. It was the 54th sack of the linebacker's career, moving him past Greg Lloyd into fifth place on the Steelers' all-time list.

The game was preceded by more than 40 minutes of festivities, as has been recent tradition for the NFL's Thursday opener. The Steelers staged a ceremony celebrating each of their five Super Bowl championships, concerts were held at Heinz Field and in Miami, and downtown Pittsburgh was illuminated by fireworks and a light show.

The son of the late Pittsburgh mayor Bob O'Connor led fans in a wave of the Steelers' signature Terrible Towel. O'Connor died Friday of brain cancer.

Roethlisberger, the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, was involved in a motorcycle accident in June, but had made a complete recovery.

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