KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The Pittsburgh Steelers, dominating throughout the game, held on for an 18-16 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night and will play at the New England Patriots for the AFC championship next Sunday.
The Steelers and Patriots last played in AFC title games after the seasons of 2001 and 2004 at Heinz Field, both New England victories.
With a third down and 3 at the 12 and two minutes left, Ben Roethlisberger completed a 7-yard pass to Antonio Brown to seal it because Kansas City had no timeouts left.
A holding penalty on a 2-point conversion with 2:43 left prevented the Chiefs from tying it. They scored a touchdown on Spencer Ware's 1-yard run. The 2-point conversion pass from Alex Smith to Demetrius Harris was good, but left tackle Eric Fisher was penalized for holding James Harrison on the play. The subsequent 2-point pass from the 12 failed.
All of the Steelers points came on Chris Boswell's six field goals, setting a postseason record.
Le'Veon Bell broke his own Steelers postseason rushing record set the previous week with 170 yards.
The Chiefs scored their second touchdown of the game after converting two fourth downs on a 13-play, 75 yard drive.
It came after safety Sean Davis hit wide receiver Chris Conley high inside the five on third-and-9 from the 25. Conley dropped the ball but Davis was flagged for a personal foul for an illegal hit on a defenseless receiver.
On that drive, Kansas City also picked up a first down on fourth-and-8 at the 38 after they had a second-and-25 two plays earlier.
Boswell's sixth field goal, from 43 yards, came after the Steelers reached the Kansas City 19, a series that ended with a sack of Roethlisberger back to the 25.
That gave the Steelers an 18-10 lead with 9:49 left in the game.
The Steelers led 15-10 lead after three quarters.
Boswell kicked his fifth field goal to end the Steelers' first series of the second half, a 43-yarder to increase their lead to 15-7.
The Chiefs countered with their first field goal of the day, from 48 yards by Cairo Santos, to close within five with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
Bell, who set the Steelers postseason record with 167 yards against Miami last week, had 161 yards rushing on 26 carries after three quarters.
Boswell kicked four field goals and Bell ran for 101 yards as the Steelers led 12-7 at halftime.
The Steelers dominated the game with 275 yards on offense to the Chiefs' 106 in the half but were unable to put the ball in the end zone, failing to do so on three trips inside the 20 and another at the 20 _ twice they reached the Chiefs' five. Those five drives ended with four field goals and one interception in the end zone of Roethlisberger.
The Steelers did not punt in the first half.
They made it three drives, three field goals by Boswell, who kicked a 36-yarder with 9:18 left in the second quarter to put them back on top 9-7.
That also made them 0-for-2 in the red zone, with a third drive petering out just short at the 20.
On the next series, Ryan Shazier picked off a pass that fluttered after Bud Dupree slammed into Smith as he was throwing. The Steelers took over on Kansas City's 44 and reached the 5 after a 26-yard reception by Jesse James.
However, on the next play from the five, linebacker Frank Zombo tipped Roethlisberger's pass and Eric Berry made a diving catch in the end zone.
Boswell kicked his fourth field goal, from 45 yards, to make it 12-7 with 4:08 left in the first half.
Kansas City led 7-3 with 6:09 to go in the first quarter.
The Steelers came back on their second series with a second field goal by Boswell, from 38 yards, and it was 7-6. Brown, covered by linebacker Justin Houston, caught a 52-yard pass for the only real gain of a 55-yard drive.
