PITTSBURGH — Philip Rivers slowly, surgically worked the Los Angeles Chargers‘ offense down the field for the soul-stealing drive as precious seconds melted off the clock.
It shouldn’t have been that dramatic.
The Pittsburgh Steelers fell apart in historic fashion Sunday against the Chargers, who scored 23 unanswered points in the second half on the way to a 33-30 win.
That the Steelers went offsides twice before Mike Badgley‘s eventual 29-yard, game-winning field goal in the final seconds (and jumped offsides during the winning kick, too) perfectly encapsulated this mess. And, somehow, Antonio Brown‘s 154 yards weren’t enough.
This stat is wild: The Steelers entered the game 174-0-1 with at least a 16-point lead at any point in a game, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Until now.
This is how a you turn a 23-7 lead into a seven-point deficit in less than nine minutes of game time spanning the late third to early fourth quarter.
-
Safety Sean Davis accidentally rocked corner Joe Haden over the middle to turn an interception to a Keenan Allen touchdown off the bounce. Haden undercut the route and looked poised to get the pick before Davis dislodged the ball, which fell right into Allen’s hands.
-
Rivers throws a 2-point conversion to Antonio Gates with Artie Burns, not Haden, on the field.
-
The Steelers offensive line commits a penalty and allows a Joey Bosa sack.
-
Desmond King returns a punt 73 yards for a touchdown with 12:52 left, with Steelers corner Brian Allen appearing to get blocked in the back during the return.
-
Rivers throws to Keenan Allen for another 2-point conversion.
-
A Steelers three-and-out.
-
Justin Jackson runs nearly untouched for an 18-yard score with 8:09 left against a defense that allowed 2 rushing yards in the first half.
-
The Heinz Field crowd goes silent.
The Chargers took a 30-23 lead as the Steelers mustered 35 total yards on the first three drives of the second half.
The Steelers fought back with a 12-play, 78-yard drive. James Conner‘s fourth-and-1 conversion and a 10-yard screen pass got Pittsburgh into the red zone with 4:51 left. Conner got injured, and rookie Jaylen Samuels finished the job with a 10-yard touchdown over the middle.
But instead of getting a stop and getting the ball back, the Steelers allowed the Chargers to take the clock all the way down on a poised 11-play, 64-yard drive. Nose tackle Javon Hargrave nearly got a sack as Rivers delivered over the middle to Allen for a third-down conversion with less than two minutes left.
The Steelers held the Chargers to two yards rushing in the first half, but allowed 83 in the second.
Los Angeles certainly got some help. Rivers’ 46-yard touchdown pass to Allen in the first half shouldn’t have happened because his right tackle had an egregious false start. Officials didn’t call it.
But the Steelers showed little resistance when the Chargers attacked, and Brown’s season-high, receiving-yards total gets buried by the loss.
In the first half, Ben Roethlisberger was 6-of-7 for 117 yards on targets to Brown compared to 9-of-18 for 55 yards and an interception to other targets. Once the Chargers made adjustments on Brown, Roethlisberger couldn’t find the magic with other receivers.
Now, the Steelers’ playoff future just got murkier.
Not even prime time, the Steelers’ usual antidote to any worries, could help on this night.