Steelers still seething

The fireworks began even before the Titans beat the Steelers with the help of a penalty.
& lt;a href=mailto:richesson@vindy.com & gt;By BRIAN RICHESSON & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Even before the game had ended, the fireworks began. The explosions in the sky hung over the Pittsburgh Steelers like an omen.
A time-out had been called seconds before Tennessee Titans kicker Joe Nedney kicked a potential 31-yard game-winning field goal, in an AFC divisional playoff game Saturday night at The Coliseum.
Officials waved off the play, but it was too late. The night-time sky in the Music City filled with color and brightness, and 68,000 fans cheered amid the thunder above.
Fate
That may have signaled the Steelers' demise and exodus from the playoffs, because Nedney, following a running into the kicker penalty on his next attempt, which he missed, kicked a 26-yard field goal as the Titans won 34-31 in overtime.
"They shouldn't have made that call," Steelers linebacker Joey Porter said. "It's obvious the guy missed the field goal and then did an acting job. I can't believe the ref fell for that. You don't make that call in the playoff game, in overtime."
The accused was Steelers cornerback Dewayne Washington, who broke in from the right side and made contact with the 6-foot-5 Nedney following the kick.
"A kicker takes two steps [after the kick] and we have a guy slide into him. It comes down to that?" said Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who sprinted after official Ron Blum and confronted him following the game. "Let the players decide it on the field."
Not in agreement
The controversial ending capped a four-hour game that included a number of penalties questioned by both teams.
"It's frustrating, it's heartbreaking," Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox said. "You lay it on the line week in and week out. To end your season that way is tough."
Pittsburgh had Antwaan Randle El's punt return for a touchdown taken away by a clipping penalty early in the fourth quarter, and Blum admitted on another occasion that he wasn't sure whether a play was reviewable.
"For me to have to explain to an official what's reviewable and what's not, that's wrong," Cowher said.
The Steelers also claimed they called timeout before Nedney's final kick.
"I called a time-out," linebacker Jason Gildon said. "I called him by his first name. I said, '[Umpire] Chad [Brown], I want a time-out.'
"He told me we didn't have any time-outs. I pointed at the scoreboard and we had two left."
Hard times
Going into the NFL's divisional playoff weekend, officials already were under scrutiny.
The NFL admitted its officials made a mistake the previous week when they failed to call a pass interference penalty in the Giants-49ers game that had a direct effect on the outcome.
Officials didn't help their cause Saturday night, at least in the Steelers' mind.
"Let it come down to us losing the game, not the ref losing the game for us," Porter said. "I can't question anything I did wrong because it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is the ref took that game away from us -- plain and simple."
For the second straight season, the Steelers fell just short of the Super Bowl. They lost to the New England Patriots in last year's AFC championship game at Heinz Field.
"If you don't win the Super Bowl, you end your season like this, feeling this way," Maddox said. "We knew we were close."
& lt;a href=mailto:richesson@vindy.com & gt;richesson@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;