Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0) – Los Angeles Chargers (2-1): 20-10
Friends of glamour football, run away. Vintage encounter tonight between Chargers sauce Jim Harbaugh and Steelers led by Justin Fields. Did we expect a lot of points? No. Both teams did not disappoint by giving pride of place to punters (10 punts).
The pass? Zero. The run? Even worse.
The story of this game is that of an exchange of banderillas between two teams that are too predictable on offense. We understand that Jim Harbaugh has panic attacks if he calls a pass play. So Justin Herbert (12/18, 125 yards, 1 touchdown, sacked 2 times) is weaned, as are his receivers. The best receiver on the LA side, Quentin Johnson, finishes at 44 yards.
Is the image much better on the opponents? Obviously not. Apart from a laser pass from Justin Fields (25/32, 245 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception) for a 55-yard touchdown from Calvin Austin (4 receptions, 95 yards, 1 touchdown) which inflates the stats, the aerial game is poor. So that leaves the famous running game and zero efficiency on each side: 3.1 yards per carry for the Chargers against 3.7 for the Steelers.
JUSTIN FIELDS TO CALVIN AUSTIN III. 55-YARD TD.
📺: #LACvsPIT on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/IyvXrXm1pU— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2024
Watt on high, Herbert injured
The Chargers' offensive line had satisfied in the first two games. Tonight, rookie Joe Alt (5th last draft pick) received his real baptism of fire against TJ Watt (1 sack, 2 QB hits). On yet another pressure (5 sacks for Pittsburgh), Justin Herbert took the hit and limped, before leaving definitively on the following play. Taylor Heinicke took over for a miserable result: 2/2, 24 yards and 3 sacks conceded.
In the end: 168 yards in attack for the Chargers, double for the Steelers (346 yards), the victory is deserved for the locals who were better on both sides of the ball. We are still far from flamboyance all the same.
