Playing in AFC championship games is nothing new for the Steelers. When they play in Denver Sunday, it will be their second in a row, their third in five seasons and their sixth under coach Bill Cowher.

Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Charlie Batch, Jerome Bettis and coach Bill Cowher cheer on the defense from the sidelines at the RCA Dome. Click photo for larger image.

Things are different this time.

The Steelers will play their first AFC championship on the road under Cowher and their first away from home since they lost to Dan Marino's Miami Dolphins on Jan. 6, 1985.

The Steelers are 1-4 in AFC title games under Cowher, all at home. One of those losses was against John Elway's Denver Broncos after the 1997 season.

"Maybe this is the way to do it," Cowher said. "We haven't been too successful the other way.''

The Steelers last won an AFC championship game on the road Dec. 29, 1974, when they beat the Raiders in Oakland, 24-13, to reach their first Super Bowl, which they won two weeks later. Since then, they won three AFC championships, all at home in the 1970s.

They've met the Broncos five times in the postseason and are 2-3 against Denver.

What noise?

Unlike their jittery game in Indianapolis Nov. 28, the Steelers committed just two penalties for 8 yards, none of them false starts, as they conquered the crowd noise at the RCA Dome.

Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Steelers coach Bill Cowher and linebacker Larry Foote register shock as officials rule no foul on a fourth and one play in which several Colts jumped across the line of scrimmage but apparently never touched a Steeler before the fourth quarter play was stopped. Click photo for larger image.

Last time, they had five false start penalties. Ironically, the Colts yesterday had three false starts -- one on an extra point -- and had 67 yards on nine penalties.

"We worked on that all week," guard Alan Faneca said. "I'm really proud of the guys. That's one of the parts of the running game that helped us -- we didn't have to overcome a 5-yard penalty a couple times here and there. Even if there's a 2-yard gain it was positive. We were moving in the right direction."

The officials did call a penalty on one play in the fourth quarter when the Steelers were going for it on fourth-and-1 at their 48. The Colts jumped over the line, pointed at Faneca as if he had flinched on a false start, and flags flew. But after huddling, the officials decided there was no foul.

Bill Cowher and the Steelers protested, to no avail.

"They said they [the Colts] didn't cross the line and engage somebody, and it was an inadvertent whistle," Faneca said. "You really can't change their mind."

Gold in a sea of blue

Despite the Colts' best efforts to keep tickets out of the hands of Steelers fans, thousands were scattered around the RCA Dome waving their Terrible Towels. They also made themselves heard, even though outnumbered, as the Steelers took an early lead.

	Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Steelers fans celebrate in the RCA DOme late in the fourth quarter of the Steelers AFC divisional playoff victory against the Colts. Click photo for larger image.

"Here we go, Steelers, here we go," resounded off the Teflon-coated dome ceiling. Ironically, they may even have caused a false start penalty by the home team when the Colts lined up for a two-point conversion.

"I heard them. I was talking to them," cornerback Ike Taylor said. "Man, those Steelers fans are everywhere. I don't know where they're coming from, but they're everywhere."

Ben Roethlisberger also noted the fans in explaining why the Steelers, who are 8-2 away from Heinz Field, play so well on the road:

"Everybody's against you and all we have is us and that's what makes this team so strong. We've done a great job of that all year. We could hear our fans out there. They're awesome."

Costly words

Steelers linebacker Joey Porter can expect to hear from the NFL office this week and almost certainly will be fined after accusing the game officials of "cheating" in an attempt to win the game for the Colts.

"It's like they were out there saying, 'We don't care if you know it. We're cheating for Indianapolis.' They definitely wanted the Colts to move on, not us."

Porter was incensed that an apparent interception by Steelers safety Troy Polamalu was overturned after a replay review with 5:26 to go.

"We're out there fighting so hard. All we want is for the refs to call a fair game. Don't take it away from us."

Porter said he was relieved in more ways than one when Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt missed a 46-yard field goal try with 21 seconds left that would have tied the score.

"The way the refs were going, I wouldn't have trusted them in overtime. If we hadn't won, they would have cheated us in overtime."

Can you hear them now?

Colts management took a pregame jab at the Steelers by having their public-address announcer ask the crowd in the RCA Dome, "Are you artificially piped in or are you real?"

That was in response to an accusation from the Steelers that the Colts had piped in crowd noise when the teams played Nov. 28.

The noise seemed louder yesterday, but the Steelers quickly quieted the building by going 84 yards to score a touchdown on their first possession. The place was so quiet when the Colts got the ball for the first time and faced a third down that you could hear chants of "defense" from Steelers fans in attendance.

"The noise was not a factor," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said.

Off-the-field woes

Cornerback Nick Harper made nine tackles, batted away a pass and bolted 35 yards after recovering that Jerome Bettis fumble with little more than a minute left, all the day after he was stabbed in his left knee, allegedly by his wife.

Daniell Harper, 31, was held without bond in the Hamilton County jail in nearby Noblesville, Ind., on a preliminary charge of battering and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon. She was arrested at 3:27 p.m. Saturday at the couple's Carmel, Ind., home. She attacked her husband with a large filet knife, police said.

Last June, police arrested Nick Harper, 31, at the couple's home and charged him with preliminary domestic battery. The status of that case wasn't known.

Colts officials announced before the game that a team doctor used three stitches to close the half-inch-wide cut in Harper's left knee. He was listed as questionable before the game, with rookie Marlin Jackson of Sharon expected to start in his place, but the five-year veteran from Fort Valley State retained his starting spot -- whereupon the Steelers regularly passed in his direction. The nine tackles represented his second-most all season.

Colts President Bill Polian said in a prepared statement, "Our focus ... was on the welfare of Nick and his [two] children. Those issues have been dealt with satisfactorily."

After the game, Colts coach Tony Dungy said of Harper's situation: "That's a tough deal. We're going to support Nick through this and try to come to some conclusion."

Quick hits

Peyton Manning was sacked only 17 times this season, but the Steelers sacked him five times. Statisticians in the RCA Dome gave linebacker James Farrior 2 1/2 sacks and linebacker Joey Porter 1 1/2, but that likely will change because Porter clearly sacked Manning twice by himself late in the game.

Hines Ward's three receptions gave him 47 in the postseason and moved him into third place ahead of Lynn Swann, who had 45. However, his streak of catching a touchdown in five consecutive postseason games ended yesterday. He was tied for the third-longest streak in NFL history. John Stallworth has the longest at eight.

The Colts managed only 15 first downs against the Steelers yesterday, which tied for their worst total of the season. They got 15 against Arizona in the meaningless season finale. They didn't manage a first down yesterday until only 2:28 remained in the first quarter.

Tony Dungy came into the game with a career head coaching record of 87-22 when his team scored 17 points or more.

Colts defensive lineman Corey Simon, who missed an opportunity to go to a fifth consecutive conference championship game (he went to the past four with the Philadelphia Eagles), said this of the Steelers, "They came out and did something that's very uncharacteristic for the Pittsburgh Steelers -- they came out and threw the ball."

Ben Roethlisberger on his improvement from last season to this season: "Overall, I feel I'm playing a lot better. I feel I'm not losing the game for our team. I feel I'm giving our team the best chance to win the game. [Last year] I did everything I could to lose the Jets [playoff] game. Luckily, we won it. In the Patriots game, I didn't play well again."

Injuries

The Steelers' had two minor injuries, one to the shoulder of special teamer Chidi Iwuoma and the other a slight concussion to fullback Dan Kreider. Verron Haynes replaced Kreider for some crucial fourth-and-1 plays in the fourth quarter, but Kreider eventually returned.