CINCINNATI - A.J. Green doesn't really care about the Cincinnati Bengals' woeful past. The wide receiver wasn't part of it and hasn't really taken the time to study it. The Bengals were bad. End of story. And now they're good. Beginning of story. Andy Dalton hit Green for a 21-yard pass in the final minutes to set up Josh Brown's 43-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to lift the Bengals to a 13-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Cincinnati (9-6) clinched a second straight playoff berth after beating the Steelers (7-8) for the first time since 2009. Pittsburgh (7-8) was eliminated from postseason contention. The only other time the Bengals made the playoffs in consecutive seasons came in 1981-82, six years before Green was born. ''This has been our goal coming in at the beginning of the season,'' Green said. ''A lot of people talked about we hadn't been in in back to back seasons in 30 years. I don't worry about that stuff. I've been here two years and we made the playoffs all two years. That's all we can control.'' Shredding the label as erratic - and sometimes comical - losers one improbable victory at a time, the Bengals, their precocious duo of Green and Dalton and their quickly improving defense have Cincinnati in uncharted territory. The Bengals have been around since 1968. This is the first time they'll make the postseason in two straight non-strike years. ''I know they just think that there's some complex; there's no complex, you've just got to come play and win,'' coach Marvin Lewis said. ''This group in there has very little history of anything.'' Maybe that's why Bengals aren't doomed to repeat it. Brown missed a 56-yarder earlier in the fourth quarter, but earned a second chance when Reggie Nelson picked off Ben Roethlisberger and returned it to the Pittsburgh 46 with 14 seconds remaining. Dalton found Green down the right sideline on the next play, setting up Brown's winner. ''I've had some pretty big kicks, but that was a long time ago,'' said Brown, who is filling in for injured starter Mike Nugent. ''When you have a chance for the playoffs there's nothing bigger. It's a big deal. Dalton completed 24 of 41 for 278 yards and two interceptions for the Bengals, which snapped a five-game losing streak to Pittsburgh. Green caught 10 passes for 116 yards and Cincinnati's defense next let the Steelers get comfortable. Roethlisberger completed 14 of 28 passes for 220 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Leon Hall returned the first pick 17 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and Nelson stepped in front of an overthrown Roethlisberger pass in the fourth. The Steelers needed to win their final two games to make the playoffs. Instead, the team that was 6-3 in early November will spend January at home after falling for the fifth time in its last six games.
INDIANAPOLIS - The expectations placed upon Andrew Luck almost seemed unfair. Being the heir to Peyton Manning in Indianapolis is heady stuff for a rookie taking the reins of a franchise that won two games last season. Now, after guiding the Colts back to the playoffs - and breaking Cam Newton's single-season passing record for a first-year player - it's safe to say Luck exceeded just about all of them. Luck threw for 205 yards Sunday, and his 7-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne on third-and-goal late in the fourth quarter gave the Colts a 20-13 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. That put them into the playoffs without worrying about anybody else. ''Would we have done it without him?'' Colts interim coach Bruce Arians asked. ''No.'' Luck broke Newton's record of 4,051 yards passing in the second quarter. But it was extending his own rookie record for fourth-quarter comebacks to seven was more important. The Chiefs had rallied behind Jamaal Charles' 226 yards rushing to tie the game 13-13 heading into the fourth quarter. The Colts' defense stuffed quarterback Brady Quinn on fourth-and-inches to give Luck a chance. That's all he needed. After a miserable stretch in which he connected on 1 of 13 passes, the fabulous freshman calmly led Indianapolis (10-5) downfield. He completed a key pass to T.Y. Hilton on third down and made two nice throws to Wayne before hitting the veteran in the back of the end zone. ''We had so many opportunities all game, especially on third down, that we squandered,'' Wayne said. ''We wanted to get that done. That was the opportune time to do it.'' Darius Butler returned an interception 32 yards for the Colts' other touchdown, helping them join the 2008 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to win at least 10 games after losing 14 or more the previous season. Most of those wins have come under Arians, who has filled in admirably while Chuck Pagano underwent treatment for leukemia. Pagano is expected to rejoin the Colts this week. ''Mission accomplished. That's all I can say,'' Arians said. ''Without getting emotional again, knowing that (Pagano) is going to be back Monday, the work week shouldn't be as stressful.'' Charles' big day included an 86-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half. It was his second 200-yard game of the season, and came one week after he managed 10 yards on nine carries against Oakland. ''It was fun today, competing out there and doing it while we were trying to come back,'' Charles said. ''It was fun going out there and putting out a performance like that.'' Charles joined the Titans' Chris Johnson and former Lions great Barry Sanders as the only players with three runs of 80 or more yards in a season. His third career 200-yard game also set a franchise record, which he had shared with Larry Johnson. Peyton Hillis added 101 yards on the ground for the Chiefs (2-13), who had 352 yards rushing in a losing effort - the first time that's happened in NFL history.
BALTIMORE - A celebration four weeks in the making featured laughs and hugs, a surprise appearance by team owner Steve Bisciotti and the distribution of hats announcing the Baltimore Ravens' stature as AFC North champions. Joe Flacco threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns, and the Ravens defeated the New York Giants 33-14 Sunday to end a three-game losing streak to secure their second straight division crown. ''It feels good,'' wide receiver Torrey Smith said in the upbeat locker room. ''I'm just glad we finally got it done.'' The Ravens (10-5) led 24-7 at halftime and cruised behind a short-handed defense that harassed quarterback Eli Manning and limited New York to 186 yards. Playing its second game with Jim Caldwell as offensive coordinator, Baltimore scored touchdowns on its first two possessions and amassed a season-high 533 yards - 289 in the first half alone. ''It's about execution, man. It's a simple word, but it's a very tough task to do,'' said running back Ray Rice, who ran for 107 yards and caught six passes for 51 yards and a touchdown. ''This was a championship game for us.'' After ending their longest losing streak since 2009, the Ravens are assured a home playoff game on the first weekend of January. ''We know what's at stake. We want the AFC championship and it starts tonight,'' safety James Ihedigbo said. ''We're not looking at regular season. Playoffs started for us and we're going to keep on playing.'' The defeat eliminated the defending Super Bowl champion Giants (8-7) from contention in the NFC East and severely damaged their chances of qualifying for the playoffs. New York has lost five of seven and was coming off a 34-0 defeat at Atlanta. In this one, Manning went 14 for 28 for 150 yards and was sacked three times. ''Obviously, we have a bad formula going on right here,'' coach Tom Coughlin said. ''We're having trouble stopping people and our offense doesn't hold the ball at all to give the defense a chance to catch their breath. We've had two games in a row, pretty much the exact same scenario.'' Flacco, meanwhile, rebounded from a stretch in which he committed two turnovers in each of Baltimore's three straight defeats. He completed 25 of 36 passes, ran for a score and did not throw an interception or lose a fumble. He repeatedly picked on cornerback Corey Webster, who simply couldn't contain Smith or Anquan Boldin. Smith caught five passes for 88 yards and a touchdown, and Boldin finished with seven receptions for 93 yards. Backup Bernard Pierce gained 123 yards as part of a running attack that generated 224 yards.
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