Lions-Steelers

Jerome Bettis acted like a man ready to retire. He received two standing ovations, signed dozens of jerseys and footballs for his teammates and posed for pictures on the field for a half-hour after the game ended.

What Bettis hopes is the Pittsburgh Steelers delay his anticipated retirement for four more games.

Bettis matched his career high with three touchdown runs in what likely was his final game in Pittsburgh and the Steelers overcame some sloppy defense to beat the Detroit Lions 35-21 Sunday, securing their 10th playoff appearance in 14 seasons under coach Bill Cowher.

The Steelers (11-5) will play AFC North champion Cincinnati, a 37-3 loser to Kansas City, at 4:30 p.m. Sunday in a wild-card game. Pittsburgh won at Cincinnati 27-13 on Oct. 23, but effectively lost the division title with a 38-31 loss to the Bengals in Pittsburgh on Dec. 4.

``We play them twice a year and we know them,'' Hines Ward said. ``We'll take our chances going to Cincinnati. ... It's not going to be easy, but we're more comfortable with them.''

Pittsburgh avoided a playoff rematch with New England when the Patriots lost 28-26 to Miami. The Steelers lost AFC championship games at home to the Patriots last season and during the 2001 season.

``It didn't make any difference to me who we play,'' safety Troy Polamalu said. ``We have unfinished business with both of them.''

Bettis, the fifth-leading rusher in NFL history, said last week he wanted to ``do something special'' if this was his final home game. He had only 41 yards - Willie Parker ran for 135 - but scored on runs of 1, 5 and 4 yards to help the Steelers overcome an early 14-7 deficit.

Bettis could think of only one better way to end his career - playing in the Super Bowl for the first time.

``I told the guys, `We've got to get there - I'm running out of time,''' said the 33-year-old Bettis, who came back this season mostly for the chance to play in the Super Bowl in his Detroit hometown.

Still, the Steelers' challenge is a big one. No sixth-seeded team has made it to a conference championship game, much less the Super Bowl, since the NFL's present playoff format was adopted in 1990. To get there, the Steelers might have to beat the Bengals, Colts and Patriots, all on the road.

``But I think if any team could do it, it's this team,'' said Polamalu, who thinks the Steelers are playing better now than a year ago, when they were top-seeded after winning their final 14. ``Maybe that's why our season has gone the way it has.''

The Steelers allowed Joey Harrington to throw three touchdown passes after giving up only one touchdown and 12 points in their previous three games, but won their fourth in a row following a three-game skid. The Lions (5-11) finished their fifth consecutive losing season with six losses in seven games.

This wasn't the kind of game the Steelers wanted to take into the playoffs - Ben Roethlisberger was only 7-of-16 for 135 yards and threw his first two interceptions in four games - but Bettis supplied an emotional lift.

``It was his day,'' Ward said.

For a team that needed to win to make the playoffs, the Steelers seemed to lack desperation after Antwaan Randle El scored on an 81-yard punt return less than two minutes into the game. Harrington threw scoring passes of 12 yards to Marcus Pollard and 1 yard to Cory Schlesinger to put the Lions up 14-7.

``We gave them a game, gave them a little scare, but it wasn't enough,'' Lions coach Dick Jauron said.

Bettis scored the Steelers' next three touchdowns, celebrating the final one early in the third quarter by waving his arms to encourage a long, loud standing ovation from the crowd of 63,794.

When the Lions cut it to 28-21 on Harrington's 15-yard TD pass to Roy Williams, the Steelers starters stayed in and Bettis returned to the game, getting several more ovations and two video tributes on the Heinz Field scoreboard. His final carry was a 4-yard run to the Steelers 41 with 3:10 to play, giving him 13,662 yards in his career.

Like Bettis, the Lions have decisions to make. Among them is whether to bring back Jauron, who replaced Steve Mariucci when the Lions were 4-7, and Harrington, a former first-round draft pick.

``A big part of me wants to stay and right what we started, but there's another part that wants to go somewhere else and get a fresh start,'' Harrington said. ``Two months ago, the consensus was I should have been on the first thing smoking coming out of town.''

Lions-Saints

It was an ugly game in an ugly season for both the Detroit Lions and the New Orleans Saints.

So bad, in fact, it took the ugliest of kicks in the final seconds to win it.

Jason Hanson rushed on to the field and kicked a 39-yard knuckleball field goal as time expired, giving the Lions a 13-12 victory Saturday in a game that, for three quarters, featured two of the NFL's tailenders.

There were six field goals, no offensive touchdowns, dropped passes and spotty play by two quarterbacks still trying to figure out where they fit with their teams.

``Winning like this shows character,'' said Detroit quarterback Joey Harrington.

New Orleans, which lost on a bizarre penalty and rekick on the final play two months ago against Atlanta, figured to have this one locked away when John Carney kicked his fourth field goal for a 12-10 lead with 1:52 to play.

Harrington, who had been benched twice this season, struggled most of the game before connecting with Roy Williams for two big completions on the Lions' final drive.

The first came on fourth down, a 40-yard sideline catch. On the second, with about 13 seconds left, Williams caught the ball in the middle of the field.

``I knew it was going to come my way,'' said Williams, who had dropped two passes earlier. ``I told myself, `You better not drop it, they'll make fun of you the rest of your life.'''

The Lions were a bit lucky. Coach Dick Jauron considered spiking the ball to stop the clock, but Hanson and the kicking unit were already running on the field. That meant everyone else had to hustle off.

As the last seconds ticked off, Hanson launched a low kick that knuckled through the uprights for the win.

``It was done like it should have been, but I would have liked to have killed the clock and given them time to set up,'' Jauron said. ``I was watching the clock because that would have been a bad way to lose the game.''

Until that drive, the Lions had done little on offense. Hanson's two fourth-quarter field goals were their only offensive points. The Lions also got a 21-yard fumble return for a touchdown by defensive tackle Shaun Rogers in the second quarter.

For the Lions (5-10), it was an amazing victory in a season in which their fans protested their bad play and the management of team president Matt Millen. The win snapped a five-game losing streak.

``There have been times the coaches have not believed in me, and there have been times the players didn't believe in me,'' said Harrington, who was 17-of-30 for 210 yards in his third crack as the starter. ``But I never lost faith in myself.''

For New Orleans (3-12), it was just another tough loss in a season full of mistakes. It was also eerily reminiscent of the defeat against Atlanta, when the Falcons missed a kick in the final seconds, but were awarded a retry when the Saints were flagged for holding.

``We have fumbles returned for touchdowns, other teams make plays and we don't,'' said safety Dwight Smith.

The Saints have lost 10 of their last 11 in a season in which they played ``home'' games in New Jersey, San Antonio and Baton Rouge, La., after Hurricane Katrina.

Harrington's return began with an efficient 16-play drive that took Detroit to the Saints 4 before the threw his 12th interception. He underthrew the 6-foot-3 Williams on a fade route and 5-9 cornerback Fred Thomas picked it off. After picking up five first downs, the Lions would get only two more until the fourth quarter.

Todd Bouman wasn't much better at the beginning of his second start for New Orleans. A week after committing five turnovers in a loss to Carolina, Bouman was sacked and fumbled.

He kept a lid on the turnovers as the game wore on, twice leading drives to take the lead in the second half. Carney kicked field goals of 35, 47, 33 and 20 yards.

``We had chances to score touchdowns all day. I missed some guys,'' said Bouman, who was off by inches on several deep passes. ``It's just a disappointing loss.''

``The defense played well enough to win all day, except at the end,'' said Saints coach Jim Haslett. ``In this league you can't kick field goals and win.''

You can if it's the last one of the game. Now maybe the folks back home will quiet down a bit.