PITTSBURGH - Ed Podolak's all-purpose yardage record for a playoff game is still safe.

Try as he might, Chargers halfback Darren Sproles, running on a slower surface and against the NFL's top-ranked defense, could not replicate his performance of the first round of the playoffs in Sunday night's 35-24 loss to Pittsburgh in an AFC second-round playoff game.

Sproles, the former Kansas State star, had his moments in his first NFL start in place of injured LaDainian Tomlinson. He returned a kickoff 63 yards, but the Chargers did not take advantage of the field position. And he motored 62 yards with a pass reception for the game's final touchdown, but by then it was too late.

Sproles, whose 328 yards of all-purpose yards a week ago against Indianapolis was third all-time for a playoff game and just 22 yards short of the league-record 350 set by Podolak in 1971 for the Chiefs, produced 274 all-purpose yards against the Steelers.

He caught five passes for 91 yards but managed just 15 yards rushing in 11 attempts.

"He gave us everything he could give," said Tomlinson, who was inactive because of a torn tendon in his groin area. "He did what he was asked to do. I told him to be himself, let the game come to him."

Sproles had rushed for 100-plus yards in each of his last two games - the regular-season finale against Denver and in the playoff win over Indianapolis - but the Steelers did not allow a 100-yard rusher this season and permitted just 80.3 yards on the ground.

"There's a reason they're the best defense," said Tomlinson, who rushed for just 57 yards in 18 carries in an 11-10 loss at Pittsburgh on Nov. 16. "They did a great job of creating havoc."

Sproles' longest run was 8 yards in his fifth carry. He had four runs of just 1 yard, one for zero yards and two for negative yards.

"We definitely did not want to get him going," said Pittsburgh linebacker LaMarr Woodley. "Early in the game, we did what we were supposed to do as team by staying in our rush lanes and not allowing him to see the hole and hit it.

"He might have gotten us once or twice, but after that, we contained him pretty good."

The Chargers weren't making any excuses that they were without their superstar Tomlinson.

"That's just the nature of the game," said linebacker Shaun Phillips. "People are going to get hurt, and you can't have everybody for every play. Other guys are banged up, like (tight end) Antonio Gates, but guys go out there and fight.

"It's unfortunate we didn't have him, but good football teams learn how to persevere through adversity."

(c) 2009, The Kansas City Star. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.