Pittsburgh (5-3) at Los Angeles Chargers (6-3)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC/Peacock
Against the spread: Steelers 4-4; Chargers 3-5-1
Series record: Steelers lead 25-11.
Last meeting: Steelers beat Chargers 20-10 in Pittsburgh on Sept. 22, 2024.
Last week: Steelers beat Colts 27-20; Chargers beat Titans 27-20.
Steelers offense: overall (28), rush (30), pass (21), scoring (T-12).
Steelers defense: overall (30), rush (14), pass (32), scoring (21).
Chargers offense: overall (5), rush (10), pass (6), scoring (17).
Chargers defense: overall (6), rush (17), pass (3), scoring (12).
Turnover differential: Steelers plus-9; Chargers minus-4.
RB Jaylen Warren scored two rushing touchdowns in a game for the first time against Indianapolis. He also had 16 carries, tying his second-highest total as a NFL player, but only managed 31 yards with that big workload. Facing a run defense that has tightened up in recent weeks, the Steelers will hope Warren can be more effective with his touches to take pressure off QB Aaron Rodgers.
OLB Odafe Oweh had two sacks and two tackles for loss in the win over Tennessee, giving him four sacks and four tackles for loss in four games since being acquired in a trade from Baltimore on Oct. 7. Oweh, 26, has helped the Chargers pass rush get back on track, and they will need him against a Steelers offensive line that ranks eighth in the NFL in sacks allowed (15).
Chargers offensive line vs. Steelers OLB T.J. Watt. It hasn’t been a vintage season for the Pittsburgh defense, but tell that to Indianapolis after turning the ball over six times on Sunday. Watt did his part with a strip-sack and recovered the fumble, and now he gets to face an injury-depleted offensive line that has allowed 29 sacks and won’t have OT Joe Alt (high ankle sprain) for the rest of the season. Los Angeles will have to use every trick in the book to keep star QB Justin Herbert upright after he was sacked a season-high six times by the Titans. That could include using Trevor Penning at left tackle five days after acquiring him in a trade with New Orleans.
Steelers: LG Isaac Seumalo is out after he aggravated a pectoral injury last week against Indianapolis. ... S Jabrill Peppers (quadriceps) and LB Cole Holcomb (illness) won't play, but TE Darnell Washington (foot), S Chuck Clark (illness) and LB Alex Highsmith (ankle) are all good to go after missing practice this week. ... WR Scotty Miller remains out after undergoing finger surgery.
Chargers: RG Mekhi Becton (knee) is set to play after missing the win over the Titans, meaning the interior of the offensive line is stable. ... OT Bobby Hart (knee/ankle) is out, while CB Tarheeb Still (knee) is doubtful to play. ... CB Benjamin St-Juste (groin) was limited late in the week and is questionable. ... CB Deane Leonard (knee), and LS Josh Harris (chest) are both questionable after getting three full practices in and could be activated off injured reserve. DL Da’Shawn Hand (groin) could also come off IR after graduating to a full practice Friday.
The Chargers and Steelers have provided plenty of entertainment while trading wins over the past six meetings. Four of those games have been decided by one score. The most memorable might have been in 2021 when Los Angeles overcame a ferocious fourth-quarter rally by Pittsburgh to win 41-37 on a 53-yard touchdown pass by Herbert with 2:09 to go.
The Steelers enter the season's midpoint as the only AFC North team above .500 and will have a chance to bolster its position with a victory out on the West Coast. ... Pittsburgh has struggled on Sunday nights of late. The Steelers are 4-9 in their past 13 appearances in the prime-time showcase, including a 1-2 record against the Chargers in that span. ... Heading cross-country has not been kind to the Steelers through the years. Pittsburgh is 23-38 all time on the road against teams that play in the Pacific Time Zone, though the Steelers have won five of their past six games out west. ... Pittsburgh is 45-35 when playing indoors all time, their .563 winning percentage inside is second all time for teams that have played at least 70 games indoors. ... The Steelers produced six takeaways last week against the Colts, the most they’ve forced in a single game since creating seven turnovers against Tennessee in 2010. Pittsburgh’s plus-9 turnover margin is second in the NFL behind Chicago. ... Pittsburgh’s turnover production has masked the defense’s inability to get stops in a more traditional way. The Steelers are 30th in yards allowed. They’ve finished outside the top 20 in yards allowed just twice in Mike Tomlin’s first 18 seasons. ... Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers will be making his 38th regular-season start on "Sunday Night Football," the most by a quarterback in NFL history. Rodgers’ 21 wins on Sunday nights are tied with Tom Brady for the most ever and his 9,612 yards passing on Sunday nights rank second only to Brady. ... Pittsburgh DT Cam Heyward will play in his 220th game, tying Hall of Fame center Mike Webster for second most in franchise history behind former QB Ben Roethlisberger (247). ... Steelers WR DK Metcalf is third in the NFL in yards per reception (16.1) but isn’t getting a ton of opportunities. Metcalf has 29 catches through eight games, putting him on pace for a career low in that department since the NFL moved to a 17-game schedule in 2021. ... Part of the reason for Metcalf’s modest target numbers can be attributed to Rodgers trying to spread the ball around. ... Herbert has thrown eight interceptions in nine games this season after tossing three picks in 17 games last season. … Herbert led the Chargers with 57 yards rushing against the Titans. He had a career-high 90 yards rushing against the Steelers in 2021, to go along with 382 yards passing, three touchdowns and one interception in that wild shootout. … WR Keenan Allen needs two receptions to pass longtime teammate Antonio Gates (955) for the most in Chargers history. … OLB Tuli Tuipulotu has two sacks, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble in his past two games. … The Chargers defense has allowed 16 points in its past two games. Tennessee had a pick-six and a punt return touchdown to get to 20 points on Sunday. … Rookie TE Oronde Gadsden II has 24 receptions for 377 yards and two touchdowns in his past four games.
It probably won’t be pretty, but Herbert, Gadsden and other useful players of the Chargers’ passing attack should still be in fantasy lineups this week. The Steelers have allowed at least 313 yards passing and seven total touchdowns through the air over their past three games.
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