ClutchPoints
Sunday Night Football was supposed to be a chance for the Pittsburgh Steelers to prove they belonged among the AFC’s upper tier. Instead, it turned into one of their most lifeless showings of the season. The Steelers fell flat at home. They lost 25-10 to the Los Angeles Chargers in a game that exposed just how many cracks are forming beneath the surface of this team.
The Steelers’ defense kept things close early. However, it was the offense that dragged them down. Star QB Aaron Rodgers, coming off a string of solid outings, played his worst game since arriving in Pittsburgh. He threw two interceptions, took a safety, and never once looked in sync with his receivers. Even with Jaylen Warren grinding out tough yards on the ground, the Steelers couldn’t sustain drives. They had zero third-down conversion until the fourth quarter.
Injuries to key defensive players like cornerback Darius Slay compounded the misery. The Chargers took full advantage, of course. They outscored the Steelers 13-0 in the second half and turned what was supposed to be a gritty showdown into a one-sided beatdown. The loss dropped the Steelers to 5-4. It raised some uncomfortable questions about their discipline and their direction as the season heads into its most critical stretch.
Here we’ll try to look at and discuss the Pittsburgh Steelers most to blame for ugly SNF loss to the Chargers.
Rodgers’ arrival was supposed to stabilize the offense. Instead, his performance Sunday night was the definition of instability. The future Hall of Famer looked disjointed from start to finish. He had a pair of picks, missed several open throws, and appeared hesitant in the face of pressure.
Rodgers’ first interception was a brutal misread. His throw behind Jonnu Smith hung in the air long enough for the Chargers to flip it into points. His second pick came off a tipped ball. By then, though, the damage was done. In between, he missed open receivers, sailed a would-be touchdown over Smith’s head, and underthrew a fourth-down fade to DK Metcalf.
Rodgers was uncharacteristically rattled. Los Angeles defensive coordinator Jesse Minter’s match-coverage scheme forced him to hold the ball longer than usual. The results were just ugly.
His stat line (17-of-32 for just 161 yards) tells the story of an offense stuck in neutral. Rodgers hasn’t surpassed 220 passing yards in three straight games. If this trend continues, Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes will vanish just as quickly as his trademark confidence did under the Sunday night lights.
If Rodgers’ play was poor, his receivers did him no favors. The Steelers’ lack of separation and downfield threats made life easy for the Chargers’ secondary. Metcalf and Roman Wilson led the team with only 35 receiving yards each.
It’s no wonder general manager Omar Khan was rumored to be hunting for receiver help at the trade deadline. This game made it painfully clear that...
