Blitzburgh!

INDIANAPOLIS – Forget the first 55 minutes, when the Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the Indianapolis Colts. And no one will remember much how they scored all the points.

What they’ll be talking about in Pittsburgh for years to come is those last five, thrilling minutes, a wild finish made of missed opportunities, gut-wrenching twists and one unimaginable, tide-turning play after another.

The Steelers won their sixth straight game Sunday, 21-18 over the Colts, becoming the first sixth seed to advance to a conference championship game. When the Steelers (13-5) catch their breath, they’ll head to Denver, with the winner next Sunday representing the AFC in the Super Bowl.

“It was a unique game. It ranks up there. It was crazy,” Jerome Bettis said.

“It went from an all-time high to an all-time low back to an all-time high,” Hines Ward added.

In a matter of minutes, too.

Pittsburgh spent three quarters building a 21-10 lead with a pass-first game plan that could’ve come straight from Indy.

Then things got wacky:

“All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu made a diving interception of Peyton Manning at the Pittsburgh 48 with 5:26 remaining. He got up to run and fumbled the ball, but recovered – only to have it mysteriously overturned by referee Pete Morelli.

Peyton Manning capitalized with passes of 20 yards to Marvin Harrison and 24 to Reggie Wayne before a 3-yard touchdown run by Edgerrin James and a 2-point conversion pass to Wayne.

“Pittsburgh was forced to punt, but with 1:20 remaining, the befuddled Manning was sacked for the fifth time, on fourth down at his 2. Game over, right?

Not on your life. The surehanded Bettis fumbled when popped by linebacker Gary Brackett. Nick Harper, whose knee was cut with a knife Saturday in an apparent domestic dispute with his wife, grabbed the ball and headed toward a highly improbable winning touchdown.

But Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, brilliant all game with his arm and head, tumbled, reached out a hand and made a saving tackle at the Indy 42.

“Once in a blue moon, Jerome fumbles,” Roethlisberger said. “Once in a blue moon, I make a tackle. They just happened to be in the same game.”

“Two passes got the ball to the Pittsburgh 27, and Vanderjagt lined up for a 46-yard field goal to send it to overtime.

Wide right.

Vanderjagt slammed his helmet to the turf, obviously forgetting how fortunate he was to have had the chance.

“It’s extreme disbelief,” Vanderjagt said. “From the Polamalu interception reversal to Jerome’s fumble, everything seemed to be lined up in our favor. I guess the Lord forgot about the football team.”

It was the first time the Steelers won two straight playoff road games. And this one should have been so much easier for Pittsburgh.

With wide-open passing, hardly their forte, and ferocious defense – definitely the Steelers’ style – Bill Cowher showed why he has been among the league’s top coaches since 1992. The Steelers, who won at Cincinnati last week while the AFC South champion Colts were off, built their lead thanks to a superb game plan they seemed to steal from Indy.

Pittsburgh has one of the league’s most varied running attacks, but Cowher opted to open it up. Roethlisberger threw for two first-quarter touchdowns while Manning was wildly missing his first four passes and feeling pressure from everywhere.

When the Steelers needed to run, they turned to the speed of Willie Parker and the power of Bettis.

“The play-calling was aggressive,” Ward said. “They thought all we can do is run the ball. We can pass the ball, too.”

The Colts (14-3) were left to wonder where the magic went. They started 13-0, threatening the 1972 Dolphins’ perfect season, only to drop three of their next four – including the most meaningful game, Sunday’s defeat.

“There is no question we were in good position with home field and having the bye,” Manning said. “At this point, it is hard to swallow.”

They certainly made it interesting, beginning with the challenge.

With the Steelers’ offense and Colts’ defense already on the field, Morelli stunningly ruled an incomplete pass. Replays shown in the stadium and on CBS clearly showed Polamalu having possession as he fell, then fumbling as he got up to run.

Morelli said: “I had the defender catching the ball. Before he got up, he hit it with his leg with his other leg still on the ground. Therefore, he did not complete the catch. And then he lost the ball. It came out, and so we made the play an incomplete pass.”

Which incensed Steelers linebacker Joey Porter.

“I know they wanted Indy to win this game; the whole world loves Peyton Manning,” Porter said. “But come on, man, don’t take the game away from us like that.”

In the end, nobody took it away, even with the Steelers doing their best to give it away.

Steelers 21, Colts 18

First Quarter

Pit—Randle El 6 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), 9:25.

Pit—Miller 7 pass from Roethlisberger (Reed kick), 3:12.

Second Quarter

Ind—FG Vanderjagt 20, 1:20.

Third Quarter

Pit—Bettis 1 run (Reed kick), 1:26.

Fourth Quarter

Ind—Clark 50 pass from Manning (Vanderjagt kick), 14:09.

Ind—James 3 run (Wayne pass from Manning), 4:24.

A—57,449.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Pittsburgh, Parker 17-59, Bettis 17-46, Haynes 2-8, Kreider 1-2, Roethlisberger 5-(minus 3). Indianapolis, James 13-56, Rhodes 1-2.

PASSING—Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 14-24-1-197. Indianapolis, Manning 22-38-0-290.

RECEIVING—Pittsburgh, Ward 3-68, Miller 3-61, Randle El 3-30, Parker 3-19, Tuman 1-19, Haynes 1-0. Indianapolis, Wayne 7-97, James 5-26, Clark 4-84, Harrison 3-52, Fletcher 2-18, Stokley 1-13.

MISSED FIELD GOAL—Indianapolis, Vanderjagt 46 (WR).