A two-point conversion that would have tied the game was negated by penalty, and the Steelers then killed the clock and held on to beat the Chiefs Sunday night, 18-16.
The Chiefs had scored on a Spencer Ware run with 2:43 left to come within two points. Alex Smith found Demetrius Harris wide open on the ensuing two-point play, but Chiefs left tackle Eric Fisher was flagged for holding Steelers linebacker James Harrison. The Chiefs backed up 10 yards and tried the two-point conversion again, and Smith’s pass intended for Jeremy Maclin was incomplete.
The Steelers play at New England next Sunday in the AFC Championship Game.
The Steelers won in Kansas City without scoring a touchdown. Steelers kicker Chris Boswell set an NFL postseason record with six field goals, and after scoring on their first drive the Chiefs didn’t find the end zone again until the final three minutes. The Steelers’ biggest third-down conversion of the season came on a 7-yard Ben Roethlisberger pass to Antonio Brown with 1:53 left.
The Chiefs were out of timeouts, and their season ended when Roethlisberger then took three knees. Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell ran for 170 yards, breaking the team playoff record of 168 he set last week.
Bell ran for 101 yards in the first half as the Steelers dominated. The Chiefs didn’t get a first down from late in the first quarter until their second possession of the third quarter, leaving themselves to chase when their offense finally showed signs of life over the final 20 minutes. The Steelers finished with 389 total yards; the Chiefs had 227.
The Chiefs scored on their first drive of the game on a 5-yard Smith pass to Albert Wilson. The Steelers led 12-7 at halftime and 15-10 after three quarters.
Smith finished 20-of-34 passing for 172 yards. Roethlisberger was 20-of-31 for 224 yards, and Brown caught six passes for 108 yards.