Week 13 Friday Focus: Chargers @ Steelers
By: Peyton Schultze
Chargers’ running back, Austin Ekeler, will hope to put up a nice performance in the wake of Melvin Gordon’s recent knee injury.
Hi everybody, and a very pleasant Friday afternoon to you wherever you may be.
This weekend, the Los Angeles Chargers (8-3) potentially face their biggest test of the regular season thus far, as they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers (7-3-1) in the Chargers’ first primetime Sunday Night Football game since 2014 (NBC, 5:20 PT). One week removed from a dominating win for the Chargers against the terrible Arizona Cardinals’ team, Philip Rivers and Co. hope to put on another dominant display this weekend in Pittsburgh. In regard to Rivers, he was able to put on a performance for the ages last weekend. By breaking the records for the most completions to start a game (25) and completion percentage in a game (96.8%), as well as tying the record for consecutive completions (25), Rivers put on a historic clinic last Sunday in Los Angeles. In a year where QBs have dominated around the league and the potentially Hall of Fame bound Rivers has had a MVP type year, Chargers’ head coach, Anthony Lynn, talked about the performance of Rivers and his wide receivers that have made huge plays for the team all season:
“He was hot. Guys were getting open and making plays for him. There were some great catches out there today.”
The Chargers come into Week 13 having won 7 of their last 8 games, with their only loss coming against a suddenly hot Denver team on a last-second field goal two weeks ago. However, Pittsburgh comes into this week as well on an awkward note, having also lost last week against Denver and barely surviving against the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars. However, make no mistake. Pittsburgh has as loaded of a roster as anyone in the NFL and is not a threat the Chargers should take lightly by any means. One misstep by the Bolts this weekend could result in a huge play for this Steelers that shifts the course of the game, just like this play last weekend in Denver:
For the Chargers, one key to the game will be the weapons on the outside for the Steelers, especially WRs Antonio Brown and Juju Smith-Schuster. Coming into the game as arguably the best WR tandem in the league, the Steelers have offensive weapons that few teams have the firepower to match. In addition to QB, Ben Roethlisberger, and RB, James Conner, the Steelers also possess a strong offensive line that protects Big Ben at a reasonable and solid rate. However, for the second straight week, the Steelers will face a great pass rush that has potential to wreck a game with players like Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa. However, Pittsburgh has shown that they can counter elite pass rushers with a quick passing game. Similar to how New England has used the weapons at Tom Brady’s disposal over the years to establish a passing game that relies on screens, out routes, and double moves to extend the field and set up big plays, the Steelers have also developed a scheme for Ben to ease the pressure and set up easy throws. For example, last week against Denver, the Steelers were able to mostly contain Von Miller and Bradley Chubb by simply not allowing the pass rushers to have enough time to get to the quarterback. By the time Miller or Chubb would be close to Ben, the ball would be out of his hands in time to set up a completion. However, what has plagued Pittsburgh all years has been themselves. What makes the Steelers so great is their gigantic collection of superstars that have a chance to go off at any point during a game. However, the Steelers have often been beating themselves throughout their losses this year with outbursts of random turnovers and carelessness with the football. If Ben, Conner, and the rest of the Steeler offense can hold on to the ball and not give it to the other team, they will often put themselves in a good enough position to win each and every week. However, if they do not, their mistakes will outweigh their supreme talent and often disrupt their chances of winning to the best and even worst of teams throughout the league.
Pass rusher, Joey Bosa, hopes to contain Ben and the Steeler offense this weekend.
In retrospect, everyone at this point knows about how good the Charger offense really is this year. What many in the league do not know is how this Charger defense will look each week. However, with this recent return of star defender, Joey Bosa, and a suddenly solid secondary that features stars like Derwin James and Casey Heyward, this Charger defense has been quietly solid for much of the year. In their last 5 weeks alone, they have yet to allow a team over 25 points and have held 4 teams under 20. Even with the recent loss of DT, Corey Liuget, for the year, the Charger defense put on maybe their best performance of the year last week against Arizona. But here comes LA’s toughest defensive test of the season so far. With the #4 offense in the league (420.8 YPG), the Steelers will probably hope to outplay the Charger’s #9 ranked defense. The Bolts have been solid against the run and pass this year, but look for Pittsburgh to try to establish James Conner early and often next week at home, as the Chargers have still allowed some big games to running backs this year such as the Broncos’ Phillip Lindsay and the Rams’ Todd Gurley. The Charger defense will have their hands full this weekend and we will truly see if they are up to this major task.
Keys to the Game: Stop Smith-Schuster and Keep Rivers’ Jersey Clean
TJ Watt and the Pittsburgh D will hope to fluster Rivers on Sunday Night.
For the Chargers to win this game, they must stop Juju Smith-Schuster at all costs this weekend. One week after he torched the Bronco secondary for 13 receptions, 189 yards, and a touchdown, Ben will look for Juju often if the Steelers attack the Chargers with a quick passing game. While otherworldly talent, Antonio Brown, is unquestionably one of the best, if not the best, WR in the game, he will likely face Pro Bowl corner, Casey Heyward, for most of the game. If Heyward can do what Chris Harris Jr. was able to do last week against Brown and at least contain him, the Chargers should not have to worry a ton about Brown. However, if the Chargers can not cover Smith-Schuster and let him get loose, the Bolts will struggle and have a hard time matching up with an explosive Steeler offense. On offense for the Chargers, the O Line must have their game of the year. Pittsburgh leads the league in sacks and has had a knack this season for getting to quarterbacks at will. Look no further than Pittsburgh’s Thursday Night game against Cam Newton and Carolina to see how much potential their pass rushers have to wreck a game. For the Chargers to win, Rivers must be given time to drop back and throw, especially without Melvin Gordon III this week. If they can’t keep Rivers clean, the top tier quarterback may panic and make some unwise throws that can shift the momentum in Pittsburgh’s favor. However, if they can protect Rivers, expect him to make some nice plays to Keenan Allen and Tyrell Williams (if he is healthy to play) that helps their offense get rolling. A key player to watch this weekend is right tackle Sam Tevi. A rookie sixth rounder, Tevi is replacing right tackle, Joe Barksdale, who is sidelined right now for undisclosed personal reasons. That simply means that Tevi will see a lot of TJ Watt on Sunday Night, which is not an easy task. If Tevi can contain Watt and not let him touch Rivers, the Chargers have a great chance at stealing a Sunday Night win. However, if Tevi resembles a turnstile throughout the game and can’t stop Watt, the Chargers may face a certain doom in Pittsburgh.
Prediction: Chargers (31) - Steelers (30)
Rivers and the Chargers hope to establish themselves as Super Bowl contenders on SNF.
In a game of Super Bowl hopefuls, the Chargers and Steelers will have one of the games of the year in the NFL. Two teams that are very similar to one another, the game will be neck and neck throughout. However, the Chargers have recently just played better and more clean football than the Steelers. Pittsburgh has also faced a lot of drama this past week after a loss to Denver, especially in regard to comments that Roethlisberger made about the Steelers’ offense scheme and his choices with the ball last weekend. Even without Melvin Gordon III, the Charger offense will be able to move the ball effectively on Pittsburgh and Rivers will play a game of clean football with no turnovers. Playing in Pittsburgh is very tough, yet there are few places that would validate a team as contenders more than at Heinz Field. The Chargers will be able to exorcise a lot of demons on Sunday Night, from their status within the NFL to their ability to perform in big games, and Rivers will be behind a lot of it once again in one of his finest overall years. Anthony Lynn gets the biggest statement win of his short head coaching career and the Chargers pull out the win on the road in a thriller.