receiver Santonio Holmes returned Mike Scifres' punt 65 yards for a touchdown to tie the game. Late in the second quarter, Pittsburgh tried to fool the Chargers with another trick play, this one a fake punt with a direct snap to safety Ryan Clark. But the Chargers back-up linebacker Antwan Applewhite tackled Clark for a 4-yard loss on the Steelers 44-yard line. Several plays later, Nate Kaeding's 42-yard field goal gave San Diego a 10–7 lead on the first play after the two-minute warning. But with less than one minute left, Roethlisberger's 41-yard completion to Hines Ward moved the ball to the Chargers 3-yard line. On the next play, Parker's 3-yard touchdown run gave the Steelers a 14–10 halftime lead. Pittsburgh dominated the third quarter, starting it out with a 77-yard drive that ended with Roethlisberger's 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Heath Miller. Meanwhile, their defense limited San Diego to just one play in the entire quarter, an interception by linebacker Larry Foote that negated a 63-yard kickoff return by Darren Sproles. In the fourth quarter, San Diego managed to make a goal line stand, tackling fullback Carey Davis for no gain on fourth down and 1 on the Chargers 1-yard line. After taking over at their own 1-yard line, the Chargers appeared to escape the shadow of their own end zone when Rivers hit Jacob Hester with a pass for an 11-yard gain. But a 10-yard sack by LaMarr Woodley and two incompletions forced San Diego to punt from their own 2, and Holmes returned the ball six yards to the 49-yard line. One play later, a 44-yard pass interference penalty on Eric Weddle in the end zone moved the ball to the 1-yard line, and running back Gary Russell scored a 1-yard touchdown run on the next play, increasing Pittsburgh's lead to 28–10. Rivers then led the Chargers 73 yards in 10 plays and finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Legedu Naanee. But the Steelers stormed right back, with Parker rushing five times for 53 yards and finishing the drive with a 16-yard touchdown run. Following an exchange of punts, Rivers threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Sproles, cutting the score to 35–24, but by then there was less than two minutes left in the game. This was the third postseason meeting between the Chargers and Steelers, with San Diego winning both prior meeting