American Football: Brien's late errors deflate Jets

It was a tale of two kickers as the Pittsburgh Steelers and NY Jets fought it out at Heinz Field in their AFC Divisional Playoff game. But while the Steelers kicker Jeff Reed was the hero, his Jets counterpart Doug Brien was the villain as Pittsburgh won 20-17 in overtime.

Brien missed two late field goal attempts with the scores at 17-17. His first attempt hit the bar with two minutes left and, after an interception, he sailed another kick wide. The game went into overtime with the Jets receiving but they failed to move downfield and had to punt. Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger drove downfield and Reed's field goal secured victory.

In Saturday's other game, the Atlanta Falcons ran rampant in a NFC Divisional Playoff match with the St Louis Rams. The Falcons' Michael Vick set a playoff record by rampaging for 119 yards on only eight carries. He also completed 12 of 16 passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns in a 47-17 thrashing.

National Football League Divisional Playoffs: AFC: Pittsburgh Steelers 20 NY Jets 17 (overtime); NFC: Atlanta Falcons 47 St Louis Cardinals 17.