Quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger didn’t plan on another comeback after he helped build a 23-7 halftime lead. But all he could manage was the tying TD before the Chargers winning field goal. Roethlisberger had 172 of his 281 yards in the first half and for the seventh time this season produced a TD on the final possession of the first half. The only blemish was a surprisingly poor heave on his second-quarter interception.
Grade: B
Running backs: James Conner had a chance for his sixth 100-yard game, but a costly holding penalty negated a 22-yard run and a blown 16-point second-half lead took away his opportunities. Conner had two 1-yard TD runs and a 20-yard run that was his longest in four games in the first half. He had 48 of his 60 yards in the first half. Jaylen Samuels made his biggest play of the season, catching the tying 10-yard TD with 4:10 remaining.
Grade: B-
Receivers: Antonio Brown went back to his big-play ways with 10 catches for a season-high 154 yards, his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season. Brown had six catches for 117 yards in the first half, including a 46-yarder to the 1 to set up the first TD and a 28-yard TD with :17 remaining. Otherwise, the Steelers didn’t have a reception longer than JuJu Smith-Schuster’s 16-yard catch in the first half quarter.
Grade: B
Offensive line: The Steelers were without RT Marcus Gilbert for the sixth game in a row, but it didn’t seem to matter again. Matt Feiler was outstanding against Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, especially in the first half, helping to hold the pass-rushing tandem without a sack.
Roethlisberger was not sacked in the first half and was given plenty of time to throw, especially on the 28-yard TD to Brown. But that changed after halftime.
Grade: C
Defensive line: The rush defense that was so dominating in the first half disappeared in the second half when the Chargers rushed for 83 of their 85 yards. That included a pair of 18-yard runs by Justin Jackson, the latter for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. After giving up 303 yards rushing in the previous two games, the defense shut down the Chargers rush game without Melvin Gordon, holding them to 2 yards on nine carries in the first half.
Grade: C
Linebackers: L.J. Fort played a lot in sub packages and was very everywhere, making a team-high 12 tackles. But the defense got gashed in the second half, both by Rivers, who had 152 yards in the second half, and Jackson, who had 63 yards on eight carries after halftime. Jackson had three runs of 10+ yards, including an 11-yarder on the game-winning field-goal drive.
Grade: D
Secondary: Philip Rivers was only the second quarterback in the past six games to pass for more than 200 yards against the Steelers, finishing with 299 yards. And when slot CB Mike Hilton got beat for a 46-yard TD in the first quarter, it marked the longest completion allowed since Week 3 in Tampa. WR Keenan Allen had 14 catches for 148 yards, including a 10-yard TD that came after the ball deflected on a collision between Joe Haden and Sean Davis.
Grade: D
Special teams: The Steelers allowed their first punt TD return of the season and it was a big one – a 73-yarder by Desmond King that brought the Chargers back from a 16-point deficit. What’s more, Chris Boswell missed another extra point, his fifth this season after missing just three in his previous three seasons combined. The final indignation was an offside penalty when the Chargers missed the game-winning FG attempt. Another offside penalty against Artie Burns negated a block on the next attempt
Grade: F
Coaching: What was a comfortable division lead of 2 ½ games has now turned into a struggle after back-to-back losses for the first time this season. It was the second time this season the Steelers let a second-half lead of at least 14 points get away. It was also the first time they lost back-to-back games. Poor special teams and a leaky defense in the second half turned a solid performance into a bad one.
Grade: D
First Published: December 3, 2018, 4:37 a.m.
