Steelers win; will play rival

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens played two memorable games against each other this season.

The third one will be the most important, though.

The Steelers advanced to the AFC Championship Game by defeating the San Diego Chargers, 35-24, Sunday night at Heinz Field. The Steelers now will host their AFC North Division rivals, the Ravens, at 6:30 p.m. Sunday for the right to advance to Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Fla., Feb. 1.

''This is the road to go to the Super Bowl,'' Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley said. ''It was physical the first two times that we played [the Ravens], so we won't expect anything different.''

The Steelers beat the Ravens, 23-20, in overtime Sept. 29 at Heinz Field and edged them, 13-9, in a thriller in Baltimore Dec. 14.

Against the Chargers, the Steelers broke the trend of home teams losing in the divisional round of the playoffs. After watching the Ravens, Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles all pull off road upsets this weekend, the Steelers took charge Sunday in the third quarter.

With Pittsburgh possessing the ball for all but one play in the third quarter, the Steelers increased their lead from 14-10 at halftime to 21-10. They then put the game away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including one by Willie Parker, who rushed for 146 yards.

''It feels great to move from the field of eight to the field of four, especially in the fashion that we desire to do it in,'' Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. ''I think that we played our kind of football today.''