Steelers eliminate San Diego 35-24

PITTSBURGH " Fittingly enough, the Pittsburgh Steelers brought back the home-field advantage to the NFL playoffs. Now they get to stay at home for the AFC championship game and against the rival they dislike more than any other.

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, shut down 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.

The Steelers had the worst offense of any playoff team coming in, only to put up 35 points to support the NFL's top-ranked defense. Now, it's time for Ravens vs. Steelers Part III next Sunday " the third and most intriguing matchup this season between the can't-stand-each other AFC North rivals.

"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."

The Steelers have never beaten the Ravens three times in a season although they've never had the chance, but they did beat Baltimore's forerunners, the old Cleveland Browns, three times during the 1994 season. 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 for Pittsburgh.

They were two of the NFL's most physical games this season, with injuries all around, and playing for a chance 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.

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 a factor despite a 63-yard kickoff return and a 62-yard TD catch in the final two minutes after Pittsburgh had opened a 35-17 lead. He was held to 15 yards on 11 carries after rushing for 105 the week before.

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 Pittsburgh's nearly eight-minute scoring drive that ended with Roethlisberger's 8-yard TD pass to Heath Miller. Rivers also had an interception on a first down from the Pittsburgh 23 and the Chargers had a punt that bounced off Eric Weddle's helmet and the Steelers recovered.

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.

Even as Rivers went 21-of-35 for 308 yards and three touchdowns, 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 defensively dominant as they were while holding eight teams to 10 or fewer points during the season, but they also weren't rusty or off their game 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.

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 had one excellent chance in the third quarter to make a game of it.

Sproles' kickoff return provided the Chargers' best field position since their opening drive, but Rivers' pass was by tipped by defensive end Brett Keisel at the line of scrimmage and Larry Foote made a diving interception at the Pittsburgh 21 that was upheld on a challenge.

The long Pittsburgh drive and two turnovers meant San Diego didn't run its second play from scrimmage of the second half until 14:56 was left.

Eight weeks after the only 11-10 game in NFL history, the Chargers returned to nearly the same weather as that day: cold, with temperatures in the 20s, and snow flurries that lightly dusted the field.

The sunny-weather Chargers didn't exactly look as if they were out of their element, at least on their opening drive, but they again couldn't make an early 7-0 lead hold up.

The Steelers, one of the NFL's worst return teams, got their first touchdown in an uncustomary way. Santonio Holmes fielded Mike Scifres' punt at his own 37, cut toward the middle, then swerved down the San Diego sideline before leaping over Legedu Naanee at the 13 on a 67-yard punt return.

Pittsburgh hadn't scored on a punt return since Holmes' 65-yarder against Carolina on Dec. 17, 2006.