SUNDAY, JANUARY 11
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS-AFC WEST (9-8) AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS-AFC NORTH (12-4)
SERIES
| CHARGERS | STEELERS | |
| LEADER | 20-6 | |
| STREAKS | 6 of past 7 | |
| COACHES VS. OPP. | Turner: 1-5 | Tomlin: 1-0 |
| COACHES PLAYOFF RECORD | 4-2 | 0-1 |
| VS. COMMON OPP. | SD: 1-1 (Ind. 0-1; NE 1-0)
Pit.: 1-1 (Ind. 1-0; NE 0-1) |
|
| PLAYOFF RECORD | 10-14 | 28-19 |
| LAST WEEK | W 23-17 vs. Colts | Bye (Wk. 17: W 31-0 at Browns) |
| LAST GAME | 11/16/08: Chargers 10 at Steelers 11. Pittsburgh K Jeff Reed kicks 3 FGs, incl. 32-yard game-winner with 11 seconds left. Steelers RB Willie Parker adds 115 rush yards. | |
| LAST GAME AT SITE | 11/16/08 | |
| LAST PLAYOFF | 1/15/95: Chargers 17 at Steelers 13. San Diego QB Stan Humphries throws for 165 yards & 2 43-yard TD passes – 1st to TE Alfred Pupunu & 2nd to WR Tony Martin for game\’s decisive TD in 4th quarter of AFC Championship game. | |
| BROADCAST | CBS (4:45 PM ET): Jim Nantz, Phil Simms. Westwood One Radio: Ian Eagle, Dennis Green, Hub Arkush (Field reporter). SIRIUS: 124 (WW1); 125 (SD), 127 (Pit.). XM: 124 (WW1); 102 (SD), 103 (Pit.). | |
STAT LEADERS
| PASSING | Rivers: 312-478-4,009 (2C)-34 (T1L)-11-105.5 (1L) | Roethlisberger: 281-469-3,301-17-15-80.1 |
| RUSHING | Tomlinson: 292-1,110-3.8-11 | Parker: 210-791-3.8-5 |
| RECEIVING | Gates (TE): 60-704-11.7-8 (T3C) | Ward: 81-1,043-12.9-7 |
| OFFENSE | 349.0 | 311.9 |
| TAKE/GIVE | +4 | +4 |
| DEFENSE | 349.9 | 237.2 (1L) |
| SACKS | Phillips: 7.5 | J. Harrison: 16.0 (2C) |
| INTs | Cooper: 4 | Polamalu: 7 (T2L) |
| PR | Sproles: 11.3 | Holmes: 6.6 |
| KR | Sproles: 26.0 | Russell: 23.2 |
| PUNTING | Scifres: 45.7 (3C) | Berger: 41.3 |
| KICKING | Kaeding: 127 (T2C) (46/46 PAT; 27/32 FG) | Reed: 117 (36/37 PAT; 27/31 FG) |
NOTES
TEAMS MEET for 1st time in playoffs since 1995 & for 1st time in postseason divisional round.
CHARGERS: Club aims for 3rd consecutive playoff win against Steelers…Incl. postseason, club aims for 6th win in row…Chargers have won 2 of past 3 divisional playoff games…Head coach NORV TURNER is 4-2 (.667) in postseason as head coach…In past 5 consecutive wins (incl. WC playoff), QB PHILIP RIVERS has completed 100 of 157 passes (63.7 pct.) for 1,271 yards with 11 TDs vs. 2 INTs & 106.9 passer rating. In only divisional round appearance (1/13/08 against Colts), Rivers completed 14 of 19 passes (73.7 pct.) for 264 yards with 3 TDs vs. 1 INT & 133.2 passer rating. Team is 2-0 when Rivers has TD pass in postseason play…RB LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON has 4 rush TDs in 4 career games against Steelers. Tomlinson has 7 rush TDs in past 6 games, incl. WC vs. Ind. RB DARREN SPROLES\’ 328 total yards last week (105 rush, 45 receiving, 72 PR, 106 KR) were 3rd-most in postseason history. Sproles aims for 3rd consecutive game with 100+ rush yards. In past 2 (incl. WC), Sproles has totaled 572 yards (220 rush, 62 receiving, 88 PR, 202 KR). RB MICHAEL BENNETT averaged 6.0 yards per carry in Chargers\’ debut last week (4 att., 24 yards)… Team is 9-0 when TE ANTONIO GATES has 2 or more TD receptions. Gates had postseason-high 8 receptions last week. Gates has 2 TD receptions in past 3 against Pit…In 4 career postseason games, WR CHRIS CHAMBERS averages 83.7 receiving yards per game (335 total). In past 2 road playoff games, WR VINCENT JACKSON is averaging 93 receiving yards per game (13 rec., 186 yards) with 1 TD…CB ANTONIO CROMARTIE has 2 career postseason INTs in past 3…LB STEPHEN COOPER had 4 INTs in past 5 in \’08…LB SHAUN PHILLIPS aims for 4th consecutive game against Steelers with at least 0.5 sack…DE JACQUES CESAIRE recorded 2 sacks in last game vs. Pit…P MIKE SCIFRES had NFL postseason record with 6 punts inside 20-yard line last week & his 52.7 average was 3rd-highest in playoff history.
STEELERS: Team has 28-19 (.596) postseason record & is 16-9 (.615) at home in playoffs…Steelers are 13-8 (.619) in divisional round playoff games, incl. 10-2 (.833) record at home…Team has won 4 consecutive regular-season games against Chargers…Club clinched AFC North title for 2nd consecutive season under head coach MIKE TOMLIN…QB BEN ROETHLISBERGER has 5-2 (.714) postseason record & has completed 118 of 189 passes (62.4 pct.) for 1,547 yards with 12 TDs vs. 11 INTs & 85.1 passer rating. Incl. postseason, Roethlisberger has 29-10 (.743) career record at home. Incl. playoffs, team is 29-2 (.935), when Roethlisberger has 100+ passer rating. Roethlisberger has 2-1 (.667) record vs. SD…In last postseason game (Super Bowl XL), RB WILLIE PARKER totaled 93 rush yards (9.3 avg.), incl. 75-yard TD run (longest run from scrimmage in SB history). Parker gained 115 yards (4.6 avg.) on 25 att. in last game against Chargers. Club has 4-0 record with Parker in postseason…WR HINES WARD ranks 2nd among active players with 896 postseason receiving yards (REGGIE WAYNE, 963) & needs 104 yards to become only 8th player since 1970 to record 1,000 career postseason receiving yards. Ward aims for 3rd consecutive 100-yard receiving game in playoffs (123, 135) & aims for 5th playoff game in row at home with 100+ receiving yards (104, 105, 109, 135). Ward (1,043) posted 5th season with 1,000 receiving yards in \’08. Ward registered season-high in receptions (11) & receiving yards (124) in last meeting against SD…In 5 playoff games, TE HEATH MILLER has 15 receptions for 192 yards (12.8 avg.) with 2 TDs…Defense ranked 1st in NFL allowing 13.9 points per game in \’08…Pro Bowl LB JAMES HARRISON set franchise record with 16 sacks. Harrison has 2 INTs in past 3 against Chargers…LB LA MARR WOODLEY posted 2 sacks in only career postseason game (1/5/08)…Pro Bowl S TROY POLAMALU totaled career-high 7 INTs in \’08, incl. 1 INT vs. SD.
