PITTSBURGH — As the Steelers began 2006 with a home date against Detroit Sunday, two unusual occurrences were on display: a sunny January day in Pittsburgh and a spirited performance by the 5-10 Lions.

With the 10-5 Steelers needing a victory to grab the sixth spot in the AFC playoffs and coming off a three-game winning streak in which they outscored their opponents 80-12, conventional thinking had Pittsburgh breezing through Detroit.

Some rethinking had to be done early in the game, however, as the Lions scored two touchdowns in the first quarter against a seemingly listless Pittsburgh defense. With quarterback Ben Roethlisberger misfiring and the ground game doing little, the offense wasn't much better.

Fortunately for the Steelers, the special teams units were up to the task of keeping them in the game until the offense and defense could regroup for a 35-21 victory and a playoff meeting with the Bengals in Cincinnati.

Antwaan Randle El's electric 81-yard punt return for a touchdown gave the Steelers a 7-0 advantage early in the first quarter, while a 63-yard kickoff return by Ricardo Colclough and a forced fumble on a Detroit punt return set up two Jerome Bettis touchdown runs to give Pittsburgh a 21-14 lead at halftime.

"I can't say enough about the special teams, because that, to me, was the only phase we won today," said head coach Bill Cowher. "I just can't say enough about what they did and the boost that they gave us."

When the Steelers forced a three-and-out by the Lions on the first series of the game, Detroit punter Nick Harris then lofted a 47-yard punt from his own 34.

Randle El settled under it at the Steelers' 37 before exploiting several good blocks and Harris' halfhearted attempt to stop him on his way to the score.

"Clint Kriewaldt had a big-time block to hold a guy off at the beginning," Randle El said. "After that I just jumped down the stretch and ran at the punter and made him make a decision.

"He wasn't trying to make a tackle, so that was kind of the end, and, after that, I was able to get into the end zone," he added.

After quarterback Joey Harrington's second touchdown pass of the first quarter gave Detroit a 14-7 lead, Lions kicker Jason Hanson's kickoff sailed to the Pittsburgh goal line.

Colclough sidled up next to fellow kick returner Quincy Morgan before catching the kick and wending his way to the Detroit 33, where he was brought down by Hanson.

Seven plays later, on fourth-and-1, Bettis fell backward over the goal line for a touchdown to tie the game at 14 with 25 seconds left in the quarter.

The score remained tied when the Steelers were forced to punt with 2:50 left in the first half. Punter Chris Gardocki boomed a 48-yarder that was collected by Lions receiver and Penn State grad Eddie Drummond and carried seven yards before a hit by the Steelers' Chidi Iwuoma caused Drummond to lose the ball. Brett Keisel recovered it at the Detroit 37 for the Steelers.

"It was a great play by everybody," Iwuoma said. "I was able to overlap because we had so many guys on that side and we were able to get a good hit on him.

"The ball came out and, luckily, we got it back," he added.

Four plays later, Bettis cracked the goal line for a 5-yard touchdown run that handed the Steelers a 21-14 advantage and a permanent lead in the game.

While obviously proud of the special teams play and his contribution to it, Randle El said he is aware of the need to keep up that standard of effort.

"Special teams are going to be big, and we've got to continue that for the next couple of weeks," he said. "We can shorten the field for the offense and pin (opponents) down there on punts and kickoffs."

Notes: Todd Ledoux of Cranberry Township beat Doug Caruso of Mars during a field goal kicking contest at halftime and won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Super Bowl for his efforts. Ledoux made his kicks from the 5- and 15-yard lines to top Caruso, who made kicks from the 5 and 10.