The Pittsburgh Steelers have grinded out two wins so far this season, playing a physical style of football. They’ve made it clear that’s who they want to be although they’d probably still like to score more points. That philosophy could be tested this week against the Los Angeles Chargers, who play a similar style. NFL analyst Chris Simms believes if there’s one team that can execute that strategy better than the Steelers, it’s the Chargers.
“I have a hard time thinking Pittsburgh is gonna be able to move the ball consistently against this Chargers defense,” Simms said on a recent episode of his podcast, Chris Simms Unbuttoned. “I don’t think it’s gonna be pretty on offense, but if there’s one team that can out-Steeler the Steelers in Pittsburgh, it’s a Jim Harbaugh-type of team. They play that same way. I’m gonna go Chargers, 20-17.”
Simms isn’t really wrong. Harbaugh is in his first year as the Chargers’ head coach, but his coaching style has been on full display for years. At the University of Michigan, he won a national championship with a team built around its defense and a strong running game. With the San Francisco 49ers, he made it to a Super Bowl with a great defense and a strong running game.
Harbaugh has a formula, and he sticks to it. It’s produced great results so there hasn’t been a need to change it. He’s done the same thing with the Chargers. They have a franchise quarterback, but they’ve relied on their running game to fuel their offense. Meanwhile, they’ve been ferocious on defense, led by an elite stable of pass rushers.
The Steelers have been playing this brand of football longer than the Chargers though. They have more experience in close games, being one of the best in one-score games since Mike Tomlin was hired in 2007. That’s a credit to their defensive culture.
The biggest difference is probably that the Chargers are further along with their offensive line than the Steelers. The Chargers have invested multiple high first-round picks in their offensive line while the Steelers have only recently begun to rebuild that unit. That could prove to be a difference maker.
The Steelers sound excited to prove Simms wrong so they aren’t running from this challenge. They want to prove that they’re the best there is at what they do, and what they do isn’t pretty. It wins games, though, and that’s all that matters. We’ll see if it can win them one more this weekend.
