Sunday 21st December 2025

The Pittsburgh Steelers settled the playoff fate of three NFL teams with one short pass in the closing seconds. The Kansas City Chiefs also ended one postseason race and continued their bid to win a division title.

The Steelers are AFC North champions after Ben Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown for a four-yard touchdown with nine seconds left to give Pittsburgh a 31-27 win over Baltimore. Brown appeared to be stopped short of the end zone until he extended his left arm and put the ball across the goal line. It came after Kyle Juszczyk  ran for a 10-yard TD that put the Ravens back on top, 27-24 with 1:18 remaining.

Baltimore also had a 20-10 lead early in the fourth quarter before Le’Veon Bell scored on back-to-back possessions. He ran for a seven-yard score and grabbed a seven-yard TD pass about 4 ½ minutes later.

Bell ran for 122 yards on 20 carries for the Steelers, who are 10-5 after eliminating the Ravens from playoff contention. Roethlisberger completed 24 of his 33 passes for 279 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

Joe Flacco threw for 262 yards, one TD and one interception for the 8-7 Ravens.

The outcome official put Kansas City in the playoffs for the third time in four years.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs eliminated the Broncos from postseason consideration and stayed alive in their bid to win the AFC West.

Tyreek Hill ran 70 yards for a touchdown while Kansas City was building a 21-7 lead in a 33-10 win over Denver. Hill had 95 yards rushing on six carries, four weeks after he scored touchdowns on the ground, through the air and on a return versus Denver. He led a Chiefs running attack that shredded the Broncos for 238 yards on 37 carries.

Alex Smith was 25 of 36 for 244 yards, one touchdown and one interception as the 11-4 Chiefs stayed one game behind the division-leading Oakland Raiders. Travis Kelce was Smith’s prime target, grabbing 11 passes for 160 yards and a TD.

The Broncos managed only 246 total yards and controlled the ball for just under 22 minutes. Trevor Siemian (SEH’-mee-en) threw for 183 yards and no TDs as Denver suffered its third straight loss to put the Miami Dolphins in the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

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