The team with the NFL's best home-field record since the 1970 NFL merger shook off a 7-0 deficit barely two minutes into the game, controlled pint-sized playmaker Darren Sproles and returned some normalcy to the NFL postseason by beating the San Diego Chargers 35-24 in an AFC divisional game Sunday.
With a now-healthy Willie Parker running for 146 yards and two touchdowns, Ben Roethlisberger ignoring his late-season concussion to throw for a score and lead an efficient offense, the Steelers did what the favored Titans, Panthers and Giants couldn't do by winning at home. It was the first time since 1971 that three road teams won during a single playoff weekend, and the Steelers made certain that road teams didn't go 4-for-4.
“What else would you expect, us and the Ravens,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “It would be big if it was a scrimmage. This is for the AFC championship.”
Pittsburgh won the earlier two games, 23-20 in overtime in Pittsburgh - when the Ravens supposedly put bounties on several Steelers players - and by 13-9 during the Dec. 14 rematch in Baltimore that secured the divisional title.
“We have a tough, tough, tough team coming in here,” Brett Keisel said. “It's going to be a big challenge, but we're one step away - and happy to be at home.”
This will be the Steelers' seventh AFC title game, and sixth in Pittsburgh, in 15 seasons. They were 2-4 in the previous six, 1-4 in Pittsburgh.
The Ravens-Steelers games were two of the NFL's most physical this season, with injuries all around, and playing to go to the Super Bowl will only ratchet up the intensity, physicality and, no doubt, the dislike.
There was much to like for the Steelers in this one as they made certain that the Chargers' stars from their 23-17 wild-card upset of the Colts didn't repeat their performances and allow San Diego to become the first team to go .500 during the season to win twice in the postseason.
“That's quite a team,” Chargers coach Norv Turner said.
The Steelers spotted San Diego a 7-0 lead on Vincent Jackson's acrobatic 41-yard catch of Philip Rivers' pass four plays into the game, but, like San Diego's 7-0 lead in its bizarre 11-10 loss in Pittsburgh on Nov. 16, the Chargers couldn't make it stand up as 1,100-yard rusher LaDainian Tomlinson sat out with a groin injury.
Sproles, coming off his all-around 328-yard game against the Colts, wasn't much of a factor despite a 63-yard kickoff return and a 62-yard TD catch in the game's final two minutes after Pittsburgh had opened a 35-17 lead.
Sproles was held to 15 yards on 11 carries after rushing for 105 the week before and, if there can be a quiet 274 yards in a game, he got them. He had 91 yards on five catches and 164 yards on five kickoff returns.
“I don't think he ever broke one (run). We contained him pretty good,” the Steelers' LaMarr Woodley said.
Of course, it's tough to score when a team doesn't have the ball.
The Chargers had the ball for only 17 seconds of the third quarter to the Steelers' 14:43, thanks to a nearly eight-minute scoring drive that ended with Roethlisberger's 8-yard TD pass to Heath Miller. Rivers also threw an interception on a first down from the Pittsburgh 23 and a Steelers punt bounced off Eric Weddle's helmet, with Pittsburgh recovering.
“We were standing on the sideline and it was like, ‘We were in for one play in the quarter and it was an interception,' ” Rivers said. “There was a little bit of disbelief. ... You can't call it a fluke, those guys made plays, but that was crazy.”
Given the 11-10 game, it's hardly unusual this game was ... well, a little unusual.
The Steelers, one of the NFL's worst return teams, scored on Santonio Holmes' 67-yard punt return touchdown to tie it at 7 midway through the first. Pittsburgh's last punt return score was Holmes' 65-yarder against Carolina on Dec. 17, 2006.
Keeping Rivers and Sproles off the field so long allowed Pittsburgh to stretch its lead from 14-10 late in the second quarter on Parker's 3-yard run to 28-10 early in the fourth on Gary Russell's 1-yard run. Weddle - him again - was flagged for a 44-yard interference penalty before Russell scored.
Rivers went 21-of-35 for 308 yards and three touchdowns on a 25-degree day as snow flurries briefly coated the field - hey, this isn't southern California - but the Chargers failed to improve on one of the NFL's most curious records. They're 0-13 in Pittsburgh during the regular season, but previously were 2-0 there in the playoffs.
The Steelers weren't as dominant defensively as they were while holding eight teams to 10 or fewer points during the season, but they also weren't rusty as the other three home teams this weekend and now are 13-4. The Chargers ended 9-9.
Roethlisberger, again looking like the can't-shake-me quarterback who led three road playoff wins in three weeks as the Steelers won the Super Bowl three years ago, converted three times on third down plays of eight yards to go or longer ahead of his TD pass to Miller. He ended 17-of-26 for 181 yards as the Steelers outgained the Chargers 342-290.
That scary concussion Roethlisberger sustained against Cleveland and might have sidelines him if Pittsburgh had played a wild-card game? Also not a factor.
For all of Roethlisberger's playmaking - on one play, he even threw a block to help Holmes pick up extra yardage - it was a healthy Parker who made the major difference in a Steelers offense that was the worst statistically of the 12 playoff teams.
Parker, who fought through knee and shoulder injuries during his first sub-1,000-yard season as a starter, had his most productive game since running for 138 yards and three TDs against Houston in the Sept. 7 opener.
San Diego 7 3 0 14 - 24
Pittsburgh 7 7 7 14 - 35
First Quarter
SD-Jackson 41 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick), 12:59.
Pit-Holmes 67 punt return (Reed kick), 7:41.
Second Quarter
SD-FG Kaeding 42, 1:56.
Pit-Parker 3 run (Reed kick), :40.
Third Quarter
Pit-Miller 8 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), 7:04.
Fourth Quarter
Pit-Russell 1 run (Reed kick), 12:52.
SD-Naanee 4 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick), 9:09.
Pit-Parker 16 run (Reed kick), 4:11.
SD-Sproles 62 pass from Rivers (Kaeding kick), 1:53.
A-63,899.
SD Pit
First downs 15 22
Total Net Yards 290 342
Rushes-yards 12-15 42-165
Passing 275 177
Punt Returns 3-4 2-73
Kickoff Returns 6-171 4-63
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 1-0
Comp-Att-Int 21-35-1 17-27-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 4-33 1-4
Punts 6-47.2 5-43.4
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 8-104 7-44
Time of Possession 23:30 36:30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-San Diego, Sproles 11-15, Bennett 1-0. Pittsburgh, Parker 27-146, Moore 3-13, Holmes 2-7, Russell 4-5, Ca.Davis 1-0, Leftwich 4-(-2), R.Clark 1-(-4).
PASSING-San Diego, Rivers 21-35-1-308. Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 17-26-0-181, Leftwich 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING-San Diego, Sproles 5-91, Gates 5-59, Chambers 4-72, Jackson 2-49, Hester 2-13, Manumaleuna 1-14, Bennett 1-6, Naanee 1-4. Pittsburgh, Ward 4-70, Miller 3-37, Washington 3-30, Ca.Davis 3-7, Holmes 2-25, Moore 2-12.
MISSED FIELD GOALS-None.
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