The Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers were expected to be a tough battle in Week 3 at Acrisure Stadium, but the Steelers were the last team standing in a 2-0 tie. Pittsburgh came out on top in the second half to win 20-10, making it 3-0 under head coach Mike Tomlin, the fourth time the Steelers have accomplished that feat in his tenure.
Things didn’t go so well against the Chargers in the early going on both sides of the field, as the Chargers constantly moved the ball and really put pressure on the Steelers on defense.
But in the second half, the tide turned and the Steelers took the lead, hitting the Chargers one after another and finally pulling away.
In the win, quarterback Justin Fields was impressive, while Najee Harris and Cordarrelle Patterson led the way on the ground late in the game. Defensively, the Steelers held the Chargers to zero net yards on offense in the second half and put on a dominant performance when it was needed most.
The Steelers, however, are a bit battered from this game, as are the Chargers.
But the record is the record. Things are looking up.
Let’s get to some notes.
QB – B+
On a day when the Steelers needed him most as a passer to make room for the running game, quarterback Justin Fields delivered.
Fields finished the game completing 25 of 32 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown. He dissected the Chargers, especially in the middle of the field, and consistently made big plays there against the Chargers’ Cover 2 lineup.
The fourth-year veteran ran a long 55-yard catch-and-run up the middle with Calvin Austin III that resulted in a touchdown, scored on a 25-yard gain against Austin early in the second half, and even managed to complete some strong passes to George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth, and Scotty Miller.
Fields was composed in the pocket, made some crucial throws and looked as confident as ever on offense. He also scored a 5-yard touchdown to open the scoring of the day.
An incredible performance from Fields, even with the unfortunate interception.
RB — B-
It took a while, but when the Steelers finally started to impose their will, it was thanks to the performance of Najee Harris.
Harris was a battering ram against the Chargers. It looked pretty bad at first because Harris had nowhere to go. But he kept pounding. Eventually the dam broke.
Harris finished with 70 yards on 18 attempts and sealed the win with a 21-yard run to the 1-yard line, allowing the Steelers to bring the ball to their knees and improve to 3-0.
The 3.9 yards per carry doesn’t look great, but Harris really put pressure on the Chargers in the second half.
It wasn’t just Harris, either.
On the final drive of the game, Cordarrelle Patterson rushed for 33 yards on four carries – his final stat for the game. He managed runs of 14 and 12 yards to help decide the game. Patterson was only used due to an injury to Jaylen Warren, but kudos to Patterson for stepping in and delivering in a key situation.
WR — B
On a day where it felt like the running game would be the deciding factor, some little-used players like Calvin Austin III and Scotty Miller made some impressive plays for the Steelers.
Miller made a great play in the first half, breaking a tackle on a third-down catch and gaining 20 yards, leading to the Steelers’ first point of the game. He later caught an 11-yard pass where he forced another missed tackle and received a facemask penalty in the process.
Austin had his breakout game, finishing with 95 yards and a touchdown on four catches, including his game-winning 55-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown that shattered the Chargers defense down the middle of the field. He just needed a real chance, and he got it on Sunday.
George Pickens also played solidly, catching five passes for 57 yards, including a long 27-yard catch on seven attempts. His 27-yard pass was crucial late in the first half, when he caught a Fields pass on a spinning leap to put the Steelers within field goal range.
TE – C+
Pat Freiermuth’s breakthrough in Arthur Smith’s offense is imminent. Sunday’s performance against the Chargers was a sign of that. Freiermuth managed 33 yards on four catches and an 18-yard catch-and-run was negated by an illegal lineup penalty.
He also had a big drop down the middle of the field in the fourth quarter, but overall the workload was there from an opportunity standpoint. He also drew a key penalty on Chargers safety Derwin James for unnecessary roughness on a hit, resulting in 15 extra yards.
Behind Freiermuth, Connor Heyward was the only other receiver to target a pass that day, finishing with a two-yard catch and taking a hard hit from Chargers LB Denzel Perryman.
Fortunately, Darnell Washington was rock solid again as a blocker and really helped gain the upper hand towards the end of the game.
OL — C-
It was pretty ugly at the beginning. The Steelers’ offensive line had no answer to the Chargers’ defensive front and had a lot of problems overall.
Rookie center Zach Frazier had a high snap that blew up a third-down play. Spencer Anderson had trouble outrunning defenders and preventing penetration in the run game. Dan Moore Jr. missed a block on Khalil Mack, resulting in a sack.
But the Steelers’ offensive line recovered after that. Rookie Mason McCormick came in for Anderson, switched with him, and played pretty well, giving the running game a new lease of life. Moore settled down and was solid as a run blocker and didn’t have any major problems in pass defense after that.
Broderick Jones has also settled in well and performed well in replacing the injured Troy Fautanu. He got a bad rap watching live for allowing pressure in the third quarter, but otherwise looked solid. The All-22 will tell us more in the coming days.
DL — A-
Against a high-running offense like the Chargers, the Steelers’ defensive line faced a difficult task. There were some early struggles, but like the rest of the team, the defensive line found its feet and put on a dominant performance.
The Chargers rushed for just 61 yards on 20 attempts, while the Steelers limited them to just 3.1 yards per attempt.
Cameron Heyward had a great game as he controlled the line of scrimmage all day. At one point he tackled running back JK Dobbins through an offensive lineman, showing that his strength and power are still outstanding. Heyward finished the win with four tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss.
With the sack, Heyward surpassed James Harrison and is now in sole possession of second place in franchise history in terms of the number of career sacks.
Keeanu Benton was also very good. He was constantly in the backfield, applied a lot of pressure and was largely immobile in the running game.
Larry Ogunjobi and Isaiahh Loudermilk combined for five tackles to help secure the win. They were strong at the line of scrimmage. Overall, an incredible performance by the Steelers defensive linemen. They were great.
LB — A
Much like the Steelers’ defensive line, the linebackers were outstanding in this win.
TJ Watt had a strong day against Joe Alt, finishing with a sack, two quarterback hits, and three tackles. He also earned a key holding call against Alt early in the game that denied the Chargers a big play.
Alex Highsmith got off to a fast start but had to leave the game with a groin injury and was replaced by Nick Herbig. In place of Highsmith, Herbig was outstanding. He had two key sacks, including a strip sack in the third quarter. He also finished the game with three total tackles.
On the interior, Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts were outstanding. Queen led the Steelers with eight tackles and set the physical tone against the Chargers with a huge hit on Dobbins on the first play of the game. Roberts had four tackles and a sack and was around the football quite a bit.
Queen had a dropped interception that prevented him from having an even bigger day
Rookie Payton Wilson had two tackles in the game while splitting time with Roberts.
Simply a very strong performance by the Steelers linebackers, who rushed downfield at running speed, tackled well and made plays in important situations.
DB — A-
Aside from a botched coverage in the first half on Quentin Johnston’s touchdown, the Steelers’ secondary was very good.
The Steelers held the Chargers to just 149 passing yards in their win.
DeShon Elliott led the Steelers secondary with five tackles. He was solid in coverage and played well against the run in the box.
Donte Jackson also had five tackles, including a key tackle in the open field, and played well despite a shoulder injury. Joey Porter Jr. was also pretty good on the day, showing some physicality with a key downhill tackle against the run.
On Johnston’s touchdown, he made the mistake of throwing down the hill too quickly on a swing route, leaving Johnston free to run behind him.
Minkah Fitzpatrick was also solid. He had two tackles and played well downhill, although he was let down by Porter on Johnston’s TD.
Special Teams — A-
On a day when I was pretty worried about Derius Davis in the Chargers’ return game, the Steelers’ special teams had a very good day.
Punter Corliss Waitman averaged 52 yards on three punts and returned one punt inside the 20-yard line. Davis had just one punt return of five yards as practice squad signee James Pierre was a reliable presence for the Steelers in that role.
Kicker Chris Boswell sank 2 of 3 field goals, his only miss came from 55 meters. He had the necessary distance, but missed the field just to the right.
Rodney Williams had a tough tackle on a kickoff because Davis didn’t catch the kick cleanly and then forced the Chargers back deep. Overall, a good comeback for the Steelers on special teams.
