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Chargers return man Desmond King II scores a touchdown in front of Steelers safety Sean Davis in the fourth quarter Sunday at Heinz Field.
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Instant analysis: Officials, erratic passing game contribute to Steelers' blown lead in loss

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Instant analysis: Officials, erratic passing game contribute to Steelers' blown lead in loss

The Steelers dropped their second consecutive game by a 33-30 margin against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night at Heinz Field. Here are some initial thoughts on the defeat

It was over when: The Chargers kicked a 29-yard field goal as time expired following two offsides penalties on the Steelers to get out of Pittsburgh with a victory.

Heroes: Antonio Brown got some heat from his quarterback after the loss last week in Denver, and he responded with one of his best games of the season. He set up the Steelers’ first touchdown by catching a 46-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger. Then he scored with seconds remaining in the second quarter to give the Steelers a cushy halftime lead. 

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He finished with 10 receptions for 154 yards. The Steelers would no doubt like to see more lines like that down the stretch. 

Backup running back Jaylen Samuels came up huge after starter James Conner left the game with an undisclosed injury in the fourth quarter. The rookie running back hauled in a 10-yard pass from quarterback Roethlisberger to tie the game at 30 with 4:10 remaining in regulation. It’s hard to come into a game mostly cold and make big plays like that, so give him credit for picking up his injured teammate to keep the Steelers in the game. Of course, all eyes will be on Conner’s status this week. 

Goats: Kicker Chris Boswell missed an extra point for the fifth time and a kick of any kind for the ninth time this season after the Steelers’ second touchdown in the first quarter. The miss loomed large in the outcome, as it allowed the Chargers to come back to tie the game at 23 by converting a pair of two-point attempts after touchdowns in the second half. It’s getting hard to trust him with some big games, then the playoffs on the horizon in the coming weeks.

The officials missed this blatant false start on Philip Rivers’ touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin toward the end of the first quarter. 

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That’s simply inexcusable. Even much of the Heinz Field crowd saw that right tackle Sam Tevi jumped early and knew that the touchdown shouldn’t have counted. The crew wasn’t done, though. It also missed a blatant block in the back on Steelers defender Brian Allen during Desmond King’s punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The NFL should be embarrassed that its crew on the field couldn’t be counted on to make these obvious calls that had a major impact in a prime time game with major implications on the postseason. The Steelers didn’t play a good game in the second half, and that’s why they blew their 23-7 halftime lead. Still. It’s hard to overcome a 14-point swing that can be directly attributed to blown calls.

There were some legitimate penalties, though. None were bigger than the offside call on Joe Haden that nullified kicker Michael Badgley’s miss on the Chargers’ first attempt at the game-winning field goal. Instead of heading to overtime, Badgley got to re-kick twice. The first was blocked by Artie Burns, but he was offsides, too. The second was a perfect kick that ended the game. Haden’s mistake was just a terrible one with the game on the line

The Steelers fell to 1-4 when they rush the ball fewer than 20 times in a game this season. Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner didn’t turn to the run even with his team holding a cushy 23-7 lead after half time and Conner averaging a healthy four yards per carry. Instead, the Steelers continued to throw, throw, throw. Combine the pass-happy play calling with an erratic night for Roethlisberger — he finished 29 of 45 for 281 yards, two touchdowns and an interception — and the result was predictable: seven second-half points and a lot of punts. This offense has no balance right now, and if the stakeholders don’t figure out soon, they could be looking up at the Baltimore Ravens in the division standings sooner than later. 

Defense wears down: In the first half, the front seven was feasting. The Chargers running game was getting nothing, and quarterback Philip Rivers looked off while facing constant pressure. The second half was a completely different story. Los Angeles started grinding out some nice gains on the ground, and the pass rush almost evaporated. With suddenly plenty of time to look down field, Rivers was suddenly the one helping himself. There were chunk plays everywhere, especially to receiver Keenan Allen, who finished with 148 yards and a touchdown on 14 receptions. The offense’s inconsistency is partly to blame for this, as it forced the defense to spend a lot of the second half on the field. Some regression was probably inevitable. The flip side of that? The unit never got the big play it needed to get off the field in the second half. That’s going to come back to haunt you against a QB as good as Rivers.

Next: The Steelers travel to the West Coast for a matchup against the Oakland Raiders. Kickoff is 4:25 p.m. 

Adam Bittner: abittner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @fugimaster24. 

First Published: December 3, 2018, 4:46 a.m.
Updated: December 3, 2018, 4:58 a.m.

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