Steelers and Carolina into finals

NFL DIVISIONAL PLAY-OFFS Saturday, 14 January NFC: Seattle 20-10 Washington AFC: Denver 27-13 N England Sunday, 15 January AFC: Indianapolis 18-21 Pittsburgh NFC: Chicago 21-29 Carolina Followed by: Sunday, 22 January Conference deciders: AFC - Denver v Pittsburgh NFC - Seattle v Carolina Sunday, 5 February Super Bowl XL, Ford Field, Detroit

Pittsburgh Steelers sealed a thrilling play-off upset, beating Indianapolis Colts 21-18 to reach the AFC championship match against Denver.

The Colts, who had beaten the Steelers while on a 13-game winning run earlier in the season, had a chance to save the game in the final minute.

But Mike Vanderjagt missed a 46-yard field goal attempt that would have tied the game with 17 seconds remaining.

Carolina face Seattle in the NFC final after beating Chicago 29-21.

The Steelers are the first bottom seed to reach the American Conference final and beat the most successful team in the NFL this season to set that new record.

The Steelers led 14-0 in the first quarter and their defence held firm despite a late fightback by the Colts.

But in a tense final quarter, Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning finally got his offense moving.

The Colts grabbed two touchdowns and a two-point conversion to pull within three points of the Steelers before Vanderjagt's costly miss - an unusual aberration from the most accurate kicker in NFL history.

The Bears had no way of dealing with Smith

Ben Roethlisberger was the star for the Steelers, throwing two touchdown passes and making a game-saving tackle in the final seconds to secure the win.

Afterwards, Colts coach Tony Dungy was left to regret a loss of form that saw them slip from a 13-0 start to losing three of their last four games, and with it homefield advantage for the play-offs.

"It's disappointing to have a regular season like we had and put yourself in position and not finish it off," he said.

"We just couldn't get going. We didn't give up. We have to use this as motivation for next year."

The Panthers' victory was largely down to the efforts of Steve Smith, who caught 12 passes for 218 yards, scoring two of their three touchdowns.

Smitty just put on the burners and took off Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme

The Bears' defence featured five Pro Bowlers and had the best scoring record in the league, but could find no way to deal with Smith.

His touchdowns were a 58-yard catch and a 39-yard reception in the third quarter.

Panthers' quarterback Jake Delhomme completed 24 of 33 passes for 319 yards, and paid tribute to Smith's match-winning display.

"Smitty just put on the burners and took off," he said.

"He just takes off and guys have to dig in to try to catch him."