Steelers vs. Chargers: 5 Surprises in Sunday’s Loss

Another primetime game and another gut punch for Steelers Nation. The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t just lose to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football: their offense unraveled in real time.

From a safety that flipped the game script to a rookie pick that sparked L.A.’s surge, this game was packed with surprises that will have fans dissecting tape all week. While the Steelers came in as slight underdogs according to various betting sites, the stands at Sofi Stadium were taken over by the Black and Gold.

Those fans left in astonishment, as the game unfolded. Let’s break down the five moments that caught even the most seasoned Steelers fans off guard.

Rodgers’ Bad Night

The 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers, who was having what appeared to be a career resurgence, fell back to Earth in primetime in what was easily his worst game as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The often accurate former league MVP missed receivers all evening, with overthrows and even touch passes. He would complete only 51.6% of his attempts for 161 yards, a lone touchdown and two interceptions.

Rodgers also had a case of the yips, often moving into pressure. The result was taking three sacks from the Chargers defense, including a safety by Khalil Mack.

Special Teams Good, Bad & Ugly

The Steelers special teams had a mixed bag of good, bad, and ugly on Sunday Night Football, which usually dictates the pace at which the rest of the team plays.

Chris Boswell struck gold first with a massive 59-yard field goal conversion. Also part of the good was Corliss Waitman, who insanely active punting on the evening with four punts averaging 45.8 yards, including a 51-yard bomb and two of his kicks landing inside the 20 yard line.

The bad? Boswell breaking his consecutive kicks streak by missing a 45-yarder wide left.

But the ugly came at a time when the Steelers were already down and out. Punt returner Ke’Shawn Williams, who had been playing admirably since stepping into the return role for Calvin Austin, muffed a punt with 6:35 remaining in the game. The ball was recovered by the Chargers, who ate more clock and kicked a deciding 42-yard field goal to secure a 25-3 lead.

Steelers Offense

Through nearly 57 minutes the only points the Steelers scored was off of the ungodly long Boswell field goal.

Otherwise, the offense went the way Rodgers went, with drives stalling consistently as they went 0-6 on first down in the first half, gaining only 85 yards. The second half would be bleaker, as Pittsburgh would punt in both of their third quarter possessions, then turn the ball over on downs and by a Rodgers interception in the fourth quarter.

The Steelers had all three of their first quarter possessions last fewer than five plays and 1:40 off the clock, for a total of 10 yards. Their second quarter featured a 9-play, 61-yard drive that ended in the Boswell miss, before having drives of 3, 2, and 3 plays, which resulted in a total of 14 yards.

Minus the 61-yard drive, that’s 24 yards of offense off of six series. The second half was similar, with possessions of 4 and 3 plays for 21 yards total in the third quarter, before gaining some traction as the Chargers went into a prevent style defense having the game in the bag.

The Steelers would get a “garbage time” touchdown with 3:07 remaining, as Rodgers found Roman Wilson on a 27-yard connection.

Defensive Surge

The picture painted thus far has been a total team collapse, however the Steelers defense came to play on Sunday. Unfortunately, the offense wasn’t playing complimentary football.

The D shutdown LA’s offense in the first quarter, forcing two 3-and-outs, and three punts on three possessions. The Chargers offense ran 13 plays for a total of 25 yards.

The second quarter saw a similar standoff as the offense, holding a 13-play, 51-yard drive to only three points. The defense would again force a punt with a 4-play, 20-yard drive, before a Rodgers interception gave the Chargers the ball right back in less than one minute of game time. Los Angeles would score a touchdown on that drive, right before halftime.

The defense was on the field – a lot – but still held strong overall. The third quarter saw the Chargers punt following their first possession of six plays for nine yards. The defense would hold LA to two field goal attempts – one missed – to close the third quarter, before succumbing to a six-play, 90 yard drive in the fourth quarter.

LA’s 314 yards is the second-fewest allowed by the Steelers defense all season. (Cleveland was the lowest with 248.)

Minus in Takeaways and Possession

Despite putting a massive amount of pressure on Chargers QB Justin Herbert – who was sacked five times and hit nine total – the Steelers defense was unable to come away with any turnovers.

This wasn’t due to a lack of opportunity, as more than one interception fell through the waiting hands of Pittsburgh defenders, such as Joey Porter Jr. (Who had a ball bounce right off his chest.)

The disparity in time of possession often makes the defense look inept, but in this scenario it was the Steelers offense that couldn’t stay on the field. The defense forced six punts in the contest, but the yield in time was nearly a full quarter’s worth of football regardless, with the Chargers winning the possession battle holding the ball 37:35 to the Steelers 22:25.