The Pittsburgh Steelers rushed for just 14 yards in the first half on Sunday. They rushed for 100 yards in the second half with most of that in the fourth quarter. They simply imposed their will on the Los Angeles Chargers from that point on, with few demerits along the way. As multiple players said, they sensed that on the field, and suddenly the Steelers controlled the game.
“We knew we were gonna have to run the football. They knew we were gonna have to run the football. It was the end of the game, people are tired, so we just tried to lean on them at that time”, Steelers RT Broderick Jones said on Monday, via the team’s website. “I could feel it. They just didn’t have as much fire as it was at the beginning of the game. At the end of the day, I feel like they got tired, so we were able to run it at the end of the game and eat up the clock”.
The Steelers’ other offensive tackle, Dan Moore Jr., got the same sense as Jones. After the game, he told reporters he “felt the energy shifting” in the second half. It’s no surprise that we are hearing this foremost from the trenches, as that is where you would feel it. The Chargers did have some injuries, which didn’t help, of course.
But the Steelers were dealing with injuries, as well. They had already replaced Jones with Troy Fautanu, who is now potentially out for the season. Jones took over the starting spot again, but the Steelers were rotating guards for the injured Isaac Seumalo.
The defense may have felt a similar shift, as the Chargers couldn’t do anything in the second half. The Steelers allowed minus-five yards of offense in the final 30 minutes, which is not a common occurrence. They currently rank first in the NFL in both points and yards allowed.
Once again, the Steelers controlled time of possession, this time nearly 34 minutes to roughly 26. They really opened it up in the second half with drives of 5:55, 6:26, and 4:59. The only real blemish was the one-play drive that consisted of Justin Fields’ interception. Outside of that, their shortest drive of the half was 2:43, on which they scored a touchdown. It helps to pick up 55 yards at a time to end a drive.
The Steelers took over at their own 32 with 4:59 to play and a 10-point lead, and the Chargers caved. They looked listless as Pittsburgh picked up first down after first down, traversing 67 yards in eight plays. When the Steeelers got to Los Angeles’ 1-yard line, they got into victory formation for two plays.
The Steelers scored 20 points in all, but they quite likely could have gotten into the end zone right there. Instead, they took the guaranteed victory, the smart play, rather than favoring a better scoreboard aesthetic. No, Steelers football might not always be aesthetically pleasing, but as long as it achieves results like this, who cares?
