Gerry Dulac is in Los Angeles for the Steelers’ Week 11 matchup with the Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Here are his quarter-by-quarter thoughts as the action unfolds.
First quarter
● All levels of SoFi Stadium are filled with black-and-gold jerseys and Terrible Towels, making it sound like a home game. In true Heinz Field fashion, the Steelers defense coughed up a 6-yard touchdown run on the Chargers’ opening possession.
● With no T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joe Haden, the Chargers easily converted all three third-down chances on their opening possession. That was aided by Justin Herbert converting six of eight passes for 63 yards on the 12-pay drive.
● The Chargers can’t blame the pro-Steelers crowd noise for three offside penalties already. They were all on defense.
Second quarter
● After failing twice from the 5-yard line last week against the NFL’s worst red-zone defense, the Steelers did it again. This time, they failed on four tries – the last three from the Chargers 2-yard line. Hey, at least they tried to run twice.
● The Steelers could not handle the Chargers pace or Justin Herbert’s arm and feet on their 98-yard touchdown drive. Herbert had scramble runs of 18 and 17 yards and was five of five for 49 yards on the drive.
● Probably not a surprise that the 10-yard dump-down touchdown pass to Austin Ekeler in the middle of the field came against Devin Bush. Wide open and easy play.
● Big comeback drive by ben Roethlisberger in the final minutes of the first half, completing his last four passes including the touchdown to Diontae Johnson. Could change the momentum of the game.
Third quarter
● So much for gaining momentum, Never a given with the Steelers defense. After cutting the margin to 14-10, the Chargers scored 13 unanswered points – three at the end of the first half and a touchdown to start the second half. Mainly because they are ill-prepared to handle Justin Herbert.
● Not to give the defense a pass, but look anytime on the field and you will see household names like safety Karl Joseph, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, defensive lineman Daniel Archibong and linebacker Delontae Scott trying to stop the Chargers offense. Lots of luck with that.
● In what would be a homecoming game for Najee Harris, he has 38 yards on 11 carries against one of the worst rush defenses in the league.
● And why is it that Chase Claypool can never keep his feet and is always falling backward on any deep pass attempt?
Fourth quarter
● Mike Tomlin doesn’t go for the field goal in the first half when the score was 7-3, but he kicked it from 36 yards in the fourth quarter, trailing, 27-10. Let the debate begin.
● Ben Roethlisberger is the only quarterback in the league who hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 5. In that time, he has a passer rating of 104.6. He was at his best in the fourth quarter, rallying the Steelers from a 27-10 deficit to force a tie at 34-34.
● Herbert hadn’t completed more than 58 percent of his passes in three of the previous four games. That, of course, changed against a secondary that was minus Joe Haden and Minkah Fitzpatrick. But he has accounted for 387 yards, passing and roughing, with half the quarter still remaining.
● In case you hadn’t noticed – or thought that was Lamar Jackson -- Herbert has had scramble runs of 13, 17, 18 and 36 yards among his six rushes. Just in
● Miles Killebrew is turning into a big-play special teams player. He blocked his second punt of the season to give the Steelers the ball at the Chargers 3. That led to Harris’ 1-yard dive for touchdown. For the Zach Banner fans out there, he lined as the tackle eligible on the play for the first time this season.
Gerry Dulac: gdulac@post-gazette.com and Twitter @gerrydulac.
First Published: November 22, 2021, 2:32 a.m.