EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Under the best of circumstances, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert would be facing a tough test from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ powerful pass rush on Sunday night.
Being without a proven starting left tackle after Joe Alt suffered a season-ending high ankle sprain last week will make things that much more difficult.
“As long as the season is, and as much adversity as we might deal with, the mission never stops,” Herbert said.
The Chargers (6-3) had big expectations coming into the year that the pairing of Rashawn Slater and Alt would drive one of the best offensive lines in football. But Slater tore his patellar tendon in August, and now Alt is done after sustaining a second injury to his right ankle in a 27-20 win at the Tennessee Titans.
That leaves Los Angeles choosing from four players in Trey Pipkins III, Austin Deculus, Jamaree Salyer and Trevor Penning to fill its two tackle spots against the Steelers (5-3).
Penning started practicing with the Chargers on Wednesday after being acquired from New Orleans at the trade deadline on Tuesday, going from one of the worst teams in the NFL to another pushing for the playoffs.
"Pretty crazy overnight, you know, you get five more wins, so it’s pretty crazy,” Penning said.
Penning was a first-round pick by the Saints in 2022 and has experience at right tackle and left guard. He also played left tackle in college at Northern Iowa. His first day with the Chargers had him working at both left tackle and right tackle to give the coaching staff a sense of where he might fit best.
“It’s definitely challenging at first,” Penning said. “It’s like writing backwards. You’re writing with your left hand versus your right hand, so it just takes time, a lot of work at it.”
Whichever two tackles get to start will have to deal with a Pittsburgh defense that seems to be coming together after an uncharacteristic start, getting five sacks in a 27-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Edge rushers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith combined for three sacks and two forced fumbles.
The Steelers kept the NFL’s highest-scoring offense in check by forcing the Colts into six turnovers, including five from Indianapolis quarterback Daniel Jones. Beyond the takeaways, however, Pittsburgh’s 30th-ranked defense believes it took a significant step forward after getting torched recently by Green Bay’s Jordan Love and Cincinnati’s Joe Flacco.
Taking a simpler approach helped. A season-ending knee injury to safety DeShon Elliott forced Pittsburgh to keep versatile Jalen Ramsey exclusively at one safety position, with newly acquired Kyle Dugger at the other safety spot. The result was less confusion and fewer mistakes, something the Steelers believe is sustainable in a way creating a half-dozen turnovers on a weekly basis is not.
“Coach Tomlin is always saying you get turnovers when you’re fundamentally sound and in the right spot,” cornerback Joey Porter Jr. said. “I feel like a lot of players were in the right spot last week.”
Tomlin felt Pittsburgh caught a break in last season’s 20-10 win over Los Angeles as Herbert was knocked out of the game in the third quarter with the score tied at 10 after aggravating a high ankle sprain.
“It allowed us to do some things schematically that you’re somewhat hesitant to do if he has full mobility,” Tomlin said. “I think it nailed him down in the pocket some and probably limited some of the things they choose to do schematically."
The Steelers saw a full-strength Herbert in 2021 when he had 382 yards passing, 90 yards rushing and threw a game-winning 53-yard touchdown in a wild 41-37 victory for the Chargers.
Nine different players have caught touchdown passes this season for Pittsburgh, and eight different players have at least 100 yards receiving. No other team in the NFL checks both of those boxes. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ decision-making and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s creative personnel groups and never-ending shifts and motions have compensated for the lack of a true No. 2 receiver to put opposite DK Metcalf.
Metcalf, who is on pace for just 61 receptions, believes he’ll find more space going forward as Calvin Austin III, Roman Wilson and tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith become more productive.
“Jonnu, Calvin, (defenses) got to honor those guys sooner or later,” Metcalf said.
Both Tomlin and Rodgers expressed their appreciation for veteran Chargers safety Derwin James Jr., with Tomlin calling him “just the straw that stirs the drink for them.”
“He plays high safety, the half-field safety, quarter safety, big nickel, dime linebacker,” Rodgers said. “He can do it all. I mean, he’s one of the top players in the league, and he can do it in multiple positions. He can blitz, he can cover, he can tackle. I mean, he’s one of the more impressive players you see on film.”
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AP Sports Writer Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.
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