The Pittsburgh Steelers have had 11 days to not only prepare for their Monday night contest against the San Diego Chargers, they’ve had that time to get over their crippling overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens. At 2-2, the Steelers have to get back on the win column if they have any chance to catch the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC North. The Chargers also come in at 2-2 and are led by quarterback Phillip Rivers. Much like the Steelers, the Chargers can’t afford a loss if they hope to catch the undefeated Denver Broncos for a division title.
Let’s take a look at the prime time match up.
When: 8:30 p.m.
Where: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, Ca.
Watch: ESPN
Spread: San Diego (-2.5)
Series History: Steelers lead 21-7
Last regular season meeting: 12/9/12, Chargers 34 Steelers 24
Three keys to Steelers victory:
Find more consistency on offense after extra prep time: The Steelers struggled to get Michael Vick going with essentially one full practice day to prepare for the Baltimore Ravens. The results for Vick were disappointing, 19 for 26 for 124 yards and a touchdown in a tough overtime loss.
Now with 11 days to prepare, Vick and the Steeler offense must find a way to take advantage of a Chargers defense that has struggled to pressure the quarterback (only 5 sacks though first four contests) and is in the middle of the pack in terms of team defense rankings.
The Steelers know they can lean on Le’Veon Bell to do plenty of damage against a Chargers rushing defense that has given up 126.8 yards a game so far this season. Expect the Steelers to use Bell and DeAngelo Williams to grind out yardage and take pressure off of Vick and the passing game.
Getting players like Heath Miller and Markus Wheaton more involved would help, especially with Martavis Bryant looking doubtful to play.
Limit big plays on defense, pressure Rivers: The Chargers have a definitive advantage at quarterback with perennial Pro Bowler Phillip Rivers capable of putting up numbers like he did last week against the Cleveland Browns. Rivers has been tremendous so far this season, as he leads the league in passing yardage with 1,248 and has completed more than 70 percent of his throws along with 8 TD passes.
Rivers gets back one of his favorite targets in Antonio Gates and Keenan Allen is a proven veteran receiver that can make big plays in the passing game. Add running backs Melvin Gordon and do-it-all Danny Woodhead and the Steelers defense will have their hands full limiting the Chargers potent offense.
Struggles to keep a healthy offensive line intact has contributed to Rivers being sack a whopping 12 times already this season and this could help the Steelers defense limit the Chargers offensive attack. Pressure Rivers and it could swing the game in the Steelers favor.
Stars must shine in San Diego: Simply put, the Steelers need Bell and Antonio Brown to come through in a game that will likely be relatively high scoring. The Chargers have struggled mightily to stop running backs in general, so this could be the type of game where Bell could thrive.
Nobody looked to be more impacted by the loss of Ben Roethlisberger last week than Brown, but the Steelers must find ways to get him more involved against the Chargers if they want to steal a road win. After showing creativity in the first drive last week, the Steelers offense got stagnant at times. Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley will have to put together a great game plan that will allow Brown and company to thrive despite of Roethlisberger being out.
Three keys to Charger victory:
Let Rivers do his thing: If you are looking to find the best way to determine who will win an NFL game week to week look no further than the quarterback match up. Again, the Chargers have a considerable advantage with Rivers leading the way. Add the fact that the Steelers secondary is suspect and the veteran signal caller has to be licking his chops.
Through the first four weeks, the Steelers pass defense has allowed opposing quarterbacks to combine for a 100.4 rating so this is a game where Rivers could go crazy. Rivers has plenty of choices in terms of targets, including Allen and Woodhead and Gates, who returns from a four-game suspension.
Stop the Steelers rushing attack, put the game in Vick’s hands: The Chargers understand that if they allow Bell and Williams to produce big numbers on the ground, they could be in trouble. Conversely, it’s big a long time since Vick has led a team to a victory and even longer since he’s done significant damage with his arm.
The Chargers will take their chances with Vick having to carry the load, knowing it’s likely that he will be good for some turnovers if asked to do too much in the pocket. After getting four sacks last week against the Browns, the Chargers will try and pressure Vick and create turnovers.
Take advantage of Steelers poor tackling: The Steelers have had terrible tackling and when you combine that with the Chargers ability to do damage with yards after the catch, this could be a huge advantage for San Diego. The Chargers have made a living off of the big play, and already have 17 passing plays of 20 yards or more.
They also have an astonishing 771 yards after catch so far this season, which leads the NFL. Considering how poorly the Steelers have been tackling so far this season, the Chargers might be able to prolong and convert scoring drives if the Steelers don’t clean up their shoddy tackling.
Prediction: The Chargers are loaded with weapons on offense and with Rivers leading the way, the Steelers defense will have to be on point in order to get a much needed road win. Can Vick be better with a long week to prepare and get up to speed running the Steelers offensive attack? Will the Steelers finally find a kicker that can get the job done?
Although the Chargers have some weaknesses that can be exploited, I just don’t see the Steelers doing enough to get a win.
Chargers 30 Steelers 26
