The Chargers have been riding their rushing attack behind J.K. Dobbins but despite a tough Steelers defense, they may want to stick to what’s working for another week.
This week, we were joined by Ryland Bickley of SB Nation’s Steelers community, Behind The Steel Curtain, to discuss this week’s matchup in Pittsburgh.
Both teams are defensive stalwarts with complementary offenses that have helped guide them to early 2-0 starts this season. In this matchup, I don’t think that recipe is going to change for either team.
Let’s go ahead and dive in, shall we?
1.) Rookie right tackle Joe Alt has been tremendous for the Chargers thus far in the young season. He’s done a phenomenal job individually against both Maxx Crosby and Jadeveon Clowney. However, T.J. Watt is a special kind of talent. What do you think of this matchup for Watt with Alt and fellow tackle Rashawn Slater, another young stud offensive tackle?
Alt will definitely be the biggest challenge Watt has faced this year, but the flip side is true as well. As good as Clowney and Crosby (especially) are, Watt is just a level above. Given how well Alt has played the last two weeks, I think he’ll hold his own, but he’ll still need some help. I expect this to be one of those battles where each player wins and loses some reps — but Watt will probably get the better of Alt if they’re left one-on-one.
It’ll be a really fun battle on the other side as well with Rashawn Slater facing one of the NFL’s more underrated edge defenders in Alex Highsmith. I think it’ll be a bit more of an even matchup there. Just good football all around.
The big story has been the tackle/edge matchup, as it should, but I think the X-factor for this game is the interior. The Chargers’ interior offensive line looked like it struggled Week 1 against the Raiders. There was a rebound Week 2 against the Derrick Brown-less Panthers, but the Steelers are a different animal with Cam Heyward anchoring the defensive line and some really solid guys in the rotation such as Larry Ogunjobi and Keeanu Benton. Add in Watt and Highsmith running some stunts inside, and I think the Chargers O-line will have their hands full on Sunday.
2.) The quarterback position for the Steelers has gotten a lot of attention this offseason and into the regular season. Due to an injury to Russell Wilson, Justin Fields is the team’s starting quarterback. What is the current temperature of Fields and his performance through two weeks? Do fans want him to stick as the starter or is there a group that wants to give Wilson the keys?
The temperature is lukewarm across the board. I’d say the majority of fans still want to see Wilson start when he’s healthy, but the Fields faction grows larger with every win. The good news is that Fields is limiting the mistakes that he struggled with in Chicago — zero turnovers through two weeks — but there’s only been one touchdown over that span as well. He’s provided some dynamic plays, but the offense, especially through the air, just hasn’t clicked yet.
There’s hope that Wilson, a veteran and slightly better passer, can raise that floor, but removing Fields from the lineup greatly lowers the offense’s ceiling. Pittsburgh has had some O-line struggles as well, making Fields’ mobility an incredibly valuable asset. That’s the debate.
If you want my opinion, I hope the team starts Wilson once he’s healthy unless Fields tears it up against the Chargers. Fields hasn’t exactly run away with the job with 18- and 13-point games to open the season – let’s see the alternative. That being said, Wilson needs to be on a short leash if/when he plays as Fields’ upside is just too great to ignore if both quarterbacks are putting up similar performances.
3.) If you were Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman, how would you go about attacking this Steelers defense? Which players would you attempt to target and exploit?
I don’t envy the task. I’m not sure if this Steelers’ defense can be labeled “elite” yet after just two weeks, but they’ve looked dominant against both the run and pass so far. There are stars at just about every level.
If I’m the Chargers, I’m leaning into what the team does best, which is running the ball. The most rushing yards the Steelers have allowed in a game this season are just 89, but in the Falcons game Week 1, Bijan Robinson had some early success on the ground. It can be done.
At linebacker, Pittsburgh’s Elandon Robert excels against the run, but free agent signing Patrick Queen has had some struggles shedding blocks and rotational linebacker Payton Wilson is a rookie. The Chargers have one of the NFL’s most physical, explosive rushing offenses and they should find some success, especially as that’s what Roman’s offense is built for.
Establishing the run will also help open up the passing game, where I could see the Chargers hit some plays if they can hold off Pittsburgh’s vicious pass-rush for long enough. The Steelers’ secondary has had success playing aggressively this season, but they’ve been beat deep a few times. Bo Nix and Kirk Cousins missed some big throws. Justin Herbert probably won’t.
4.) Same question but flip sides of the ball. If you were defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, how would you attempt to stop Justin Fields and this offense? Which players should they focus on the most?
The Denver Broncos provided a blueprint for this in the second half of last week’s game: Shut down the Pittsburgh run game. It’s the engine of the Arthur Smith offense, and when it stagnates, so does the entire gameplan.
Beyond that, prepare for a lot of rollouts when the Steelers do pass, and double George Pickens whenever possible. Pickens is about the only viable pass-catcher on Pittsburgh’s offense, but he’s one of the most dangerous players in the NFL. The stats don’t always show it, but he’s made big plays against A.J. Terrell and Patrick Surtain II in back to back weeks.
Find a way to shut down Pickens though, and the Steelers passing attack might not be able to recover. Pittsburgh’s next-leading pass-catcher has just 66 yards on the season. The team’s WR2 has just 15.
5.) To cap this all off, give us a few sentences on how you see this game playing out along with a final score prediction.
Ultimately, I see a lot of similarities between these two teams. Both are outperforming early expectations with 2-0 starts. Both are physical, run-first teams playing great defense to start the season. I’m predicting a close, low-scoring game: Something along the lines of a 16-13 final score. I’ll give the Steelers the win here as they’re at home, but it’ll be a close matchup from start to finish.