![]() Where should we start? The eight penalties for 74 yards? The lopsided time-of-possession battle? The insistence on Establishing The Run early in the game? The turnovers? The defensive touchdown they allowed? The complete inability to account for Conner in coverage? The strange lack of usage for Keenan Allen? It's extremely difficult to pick just one of these factors. Additionally, the Steelers held Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler to a combined 32 yards on 13 carries. A solid job of tackling limited the Chargers mostly to short gains. Their ability to generate pressure without having to resort to the blitz allowed the Steelers to keep their safeties back in coverage, which forced Rivers to repeatedly check down all night long. The box score credits them with five hits on Rivers, and that feels like it has to be low. These guys were in Philip Rivers' face for essentially the entire game. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh defensive line ended the game with only one sack, but that dramatically undersells their impact. Conner totaled just 41 yards on his 16 carries, but one of them found the end zone, and the majority of the 78 yards (and another touchdown) he gained on his seven catches came after the grab, with the big boys clearing the way. The offensive line cleared the way for a monster game from James Conner, as well as efficient running from Benny Snell, who was filling in for Jaylen Samuels. They got dominant play up front on both sides of the ball. With that in mind, here are a few more things to know about Pittsburgh's 24-17 victory. It ended up being a winning strategy, thanks largely to a stifling performance from the Devin Bush-led Steelers defense. When they did throw, the Steelers mostly asked Devlin Hodges to get the ball into a playmaker's hands as quickly as possible and let them do all the work. Pittsburgh called for a pass only when absolutely necessary for much of the night, preferring instead to let James Conner and Benny Snell move the chains. Working with the third quarterback on their depth chart under center, the Steelers were nonetheless able to employ a game plan typically used by heavy favorites trying to ice the clock late in the game. They maintained a lead of at least two scores until there were less than two minutes left in the game, and it never really felt like the Chargers were in it anyway. The Pittsburgh Steelers jumped out to an early lead against the Los Angeles Chargers, staking themselves to a two-touchdown cushion just 10 minutes into the first quarter. Let's start here: This game was not nearly as close as the final score indicated.
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