Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Steelers receiver Cedrick Wilson celebrates after Pittsburgh's 34-17 win over the Denver Broncos to advance to Super Bowl XL. Click photo for larger image. CHAT: Transcript from today's open chat on the AFC Championship game. Fans asked not to meet Steelers at airport

The Pittsburgh Steelers reached the Super Bowl for the sixth time in their storied history today, soundly defeating the Denver Broncos, 34-17, in the AFC championship game at Invesco Field in Denver.

The Steelers will face Seattle Feb. 5 in Detroit. The Seahawks defeated the Carolina Panthers 34-14 this evening for the NFC title. The Steelers have won four Super Bowls, but this is the first time they had to win all their playoff games on the road, beginning with a wild card matchup, to get there.

"This is one of the great moments in my history of the league, and I've been here a long time," owner Dan Rooney said.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, in just his second season in the league, led Pittsburgh, throwing for two scores and running for one. His final score, a 4-yard run, sealed the victory.

On the day, Roethlisberger was 21 of 29 passing for 275 yards and two touchdowns.

"I made a promise to Jerome last year -- Bus, I'm going to get you back home," Roethlisberger said. Detroit is the home town of running back Jerome Bettis and site of Super Bowl XL.

The Steelers defense forced four turnovers, all from Denver quarterback Jake Plummer, who was intercepted twice and fumbled the ball away to the Steelers twice.

The second fumble came on a sack of Plummer with the Broncos trailing 27-17 and facing a fourth-and-10 situation at their own 20 with just over five minutes left. The Broncos decided to go for it down 10.

On the play, the Steelers' Brett Keisel was credited with the sack and the fumble was recovered by Travis Kirschke at the Denver 17.

Five plays later, Roethlisberger ran for the final score of the game.

Pittsburgh (14-5) made it to the NFL's promised land the hard way, winning three consecutive playoff games in a row and becoming the first team since the New England Patriots in 1986 to win three road games and reach the Super Bowl.

The Steelers are the first sixth-seeded team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl. They now have tied Denver for the most appearances by an AFC team in the Super Bowl with six. The Cowboys have appeared in eight Super Bowls.

It was coach Bill Cowher's sixth AFC title game in his 14 seasons as the Steelers head coach. Cowher improved his record to 2-4 in championship games

The Steelers took a commanding 24-3 lead at the half, scoring 21 points in the second quarter on touchdowns by running back Bettis and wide receivers Cedrick Wilson and Hines Ward.

The Steelers broke open a 10-3 game in the final two minutes of the second quarter, scoring two touchdowns in a 1:48 span.

The first score came on a 3-yard run by Bettis' to put the Steelers up 17-3 with 1:55 remaining in the half. The touchdown run capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive in 7:48.

On the first play of the ensuing Denver series, Plummer was intercepted by Ike Taylor at the Broncos' 38.

Four plays later, Roethlisberger found Ward in the back of the end zone from 17 yards out.

Roethlisberger was outstanding in the first half, completing 13 of 17 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns.

The Broncos (14-4) brought it to 24-10 with 3:43 left in the third quarter when Plummer hit wide receiver Ashley Lelie from 30 yards out. The play capped a five-play, 80-yard drive in 2:24.

The Steelers increased their lead to 27-10 with 14:15 remaining in the game on a 42-yard Jeff Reed field goal, his second of the game.

The Broncos, however, took the ensuing kickoff and drove 85 yards in seven plays to cut the lead to 27-17 with 7:58 remaining on a Mike Anderson 3-yard run. The key plays in the drive were a 38-yard completion from Plummer to Lelie to the Pittsburgh 31 and, on the next play, Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor was penalized for pass interference, setting the Broncos up at the Steelers' 9.

Three plays later, Anderson scored.

Twice in the quarter the Steelers were inside the Denver 35, but the drives stalled and they were forced to punt.

Leading 3-0, the Steelers scored their first touchdown on the first play of the second quarter when Roethlisberger found Wilson open in the back corner of the end zone to make the score 10-0 with 14:54 remaining in the half.

The Broncos countered with a 55-yard, 12-play drive that stalled at the Steelers' 5-yard-line, and culminated in a Jason Elam 23-yard field goal to make it 10-3 with 9:27 left in the half.

The Wilson touchdown was set up by a fumble by Plummer on a sack by linebacker Joey Porter, which was recovered at the Denver 39 by the Steelers' Casey Hampton.

The Steelers then took five plays to score and make it 10-0.

After the game, Bettis said he was happy for his parents, who have attended every regular season and playoff game in his NFL career. Last week he fumbled late in the fourth quarter and his mother took refuge in a restroom and prayed for a good outcome, missing the end of the game.

"My mother could actually watch this time," Bettis said. "I'm so happy for them. They've been following me around the country every week for 13 years."

His parents had company, too. An estimated 8,000 Steelers fans watched the game at Invesco Field. Many stayed well after the victory, waving their Terrible Towels in the corner of the stadium above the exit to the Steelers' locker room until security finally had to ask them to leave.

Notes

Kickoff for Super Bowl XL will be at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 5 in Detroit in. The Steelers last played in Super Bowl XXX, where they were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys, 27-17, following the 1995 season.