CLEVELAND -- Ben Roethlisberger looked up in the fourth quarter and noticed Pittsburgh fans twirling their Terrible Towels with delight.
The Steelers needed help, and they got it.
They're still in the hunt for another Super Bowl title.
Roethlisberger threw three touchdown passes, Pittsburgh's defense dominated and the Steelers slipped into the AFC playoffs with a 28-12 victory Sunday over the Cleveland Browns, who fired Coach Mike Pettine afterward.
Needing a victory and Buffalo to knock off the New York Jets to make the postseason, the Steelers (10-6) got both.
Leading comfortably in the closing minutes, Roethlisberger heard the crowd roar.
"I assumed there was a fight or a Steelers fan was beating up a Browns fan," he said with a laugh. "When I saw the towels getting out I kind of assumed what was going on. A lot of thanks to Coach Ryan and the rest of the Bills and everybody in Buffalo. I know they're excited about 8-8 and we're excited they got us in."
Pittsburgh's bumpy season -- the Steelers overcame suspensions, injuries and a shocking loss last week in Baltimore -- will continue with at least one more game. As usual, Roethlisberger did his part, throwing for 349 yards, including 187 to sensational wide receiver Antonio Brown, who had 13 catches and a TD.
"It's been a tough, 16-week fight for us, but we're where we want to be," Coach Mike Tomlin said. "We're where we need to be."
The Steelers sacked the Browns' Austin Davis, starting in place of Johnny Manziel, seven times.
With Cleveland down just 17-12 in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh's defense came up with the game's biggest play as linebacker Lawrence Timmons dropped Davis, who fumbled inside the 10-yard line. Linebacker Arthur Moats recovered, and on the next play, Roethlisberger completed an 8-yard TD pass to Markus Wheaton.
All that was left was for the Bills to help out.
And when Buffalo completed its win over the Jets, the Steelers were back in the postseason. They hugged and high-fived on the sideline and thousands of Pittsburgh fans celebrated as the black-and-gold earned the right to play for the NFL championship in the Super Bowl's golden anniversary season.
"It's so gratifying," said Brown, who finished with 136 catches for 1,834 yards. "Sitting here as a Pittsburgh Steeler, that's the expectation to make the playoffs and hoist the Lombardi Trophy. We continue to stay together no matter what people say."
The loss in Baltimore had severely damaged the Steelers' playoff chances, but Roethlisberger made sure there wouldn't be another costly misstep.
Roethlisberger finished 24 of 36 and improved to 19-2 over Cleveland.
There was one hiccup as Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams (Wynne) left in the first half with an ankle injury. Tomlin said Williams will be evaluated, and would not rule him out of the postseason.
Sports on 01/04/2016