Coming off an impressive win last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled across the country to take on the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night. They headed back home with a loss, by a score of 25-10. The Steelers fall to 5-4, while the Chargers are now 7-3.
It was a messy start to the game for both offenses. The Steelers got the ball first, and despite starting with good field position, they quickly went three-and-out. The Chargers did the same, but a bad punt gave the Steelers the ball just across midfield. They could only pick up a few yards, but Chris Boswell would convert a 59-yard attempt to give the Steelers an early 3-0 lead.
The Chargers found themselves at 4th-and-1 early on their next drive, but ran a tush push and moved the chains. However, the Steelers were able to force another punt on the next set of downs. Starting their drive at their own 6-yard line, the Steelers quickly got themselves into trouble. Rodgers tried to throw on third down, backed up into the end zone, and was brought down by Khalil Mack for a safety. That made it a 3-2 game, and the Steelers had to kick the ball back to the Chargers.
But the Steelers were able to force another punt, and Rodgers quickly completed throws of 19 and 15 yards to get the ball moving as the first quarter came to a close. They’d get into field goal range, and Boswell attempted a 45-yard field goal. But it ended up being a rare miss from Pittsburgh’s kicker, and the Chargers took over.
Herbert would pick up a knock on the next drive, but remained in the game and made some nice plays while doing so. The Steelers’ defense found a way to get off the field in the red zone, but Cameron Dicker made a 32-yard field goal to give the Chargers a 5-3 lead. The Steelers went three-and-out and forced a quick punt on the Chargers’ next drive.
Then, the Chargers got a big break. Rodgers missed DK Metcalf over the middle, and R.J. Mickens came up with the interception just ahead of the two-minute warning.
The Chargers would maximize their field position. They ate up nearly the entire last two minutes of the half, and Herbert eventually found Ladd McConkey on a slant, scoring from 15 yards out. The extra point extended the Chargers’ lead to 12-3. Getting the ball with 12 seconds left, the Steelers didn’t have time to do much of anything, and the Chargers held that lead going into halftime.
The Chargers got the ball to start the second half. But the Steelers’ defense rebounded and managed to force a punt. Then, Jaylen Warren kicked off the Steelers’ next possession with an impressive hurdle on a 14-yard run. However, the Steelers didn’t move the sticks again and had to punt. Justin Herbert found McConkey for an 18-yard gain to start their drive, and Vidal ripped off a few big runs as well to push the Chargers into Steelers’ territory. The Steelers were able to get a third-down stop, but Dicker made a 59-yard field goal to extend the lead to 15-3.
Once again, the Steelers were unable to answer offensively and had to punt the ball away. The Chargers managed to get into field goal range, but Dicker missed the 55-yard attempt to keep the score the same. And once they got the ball back, the Steelers finally started to string some things together offensively. Led by an 18-yard catch and run from Warren, the Steelers found their way inside the Chargers’ 10-yard line.
Yet, the offense once again fell flat when it mattered most. After a first-down run, Rodgers threw three consecutive incomplete passes, and the Steelers’ failure to convert on fourth down gave the Chargers the ball back. The score remained 15-3. On third down, Herbert found McConkey, who took it 58 yards, all the way down to the Steelers’ 13-yard line.
Two plays later, Vidal found the end zone from two yards out. The extra point gave the Chargers a 22-3 lead. Rodgers threw another interception on the next drive, but the Steelers were able to force a punt from Los Angeles. But to make things even worse, Ke’Shawn Williams muffed the punt, and the Chargers recovered. They’d take advantage of that field position with a 42-yard field goal to make it a 25-3 game with 4:54 left.
The Steelers finally moved the ball with garbage time rolling around. Rodgers completed passes of 15 and 11 yards before finding Roman Wilson, who scored from 27 yards out. Boswell’s extra point made it a 25-10 ballgame. The Steelers attempted an onside kick, but the Chargers recovered it with 2:56 remaining. The Chargers ran out the clock and won the game 25-10.
After a few recent primetime games, the Steelers are out of the limelight for a couple of weeks. Next week, they travel back home and look to exact revenge against the Cincinnati Bengals, who beat them earlier in the year.
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