Pittsburgh Steelers snatched a huge road win in Los Angeles, defeating the Chargers on Sunday Night Football. Mike Tomlin’s crew was better than the hosts, 24-17, posting their second win of the season. According to some, the one which might even be the turning point for this team.
Despite a massive setback that hit them when their backup quarterback Mason Rudolph suffered a concussion last week, the Steelers fought the adversity and won.
The 23-year old rookie Devlin Hodges jumped in and recorded his first-ever NFL start. Truth to be told, he got along pretty well and managed to have several good plays. Eventually, Hodges posted 132 passing yards, 15 of 20, and had an interception and one touchdown. His teammates did everything they could to make his debut easier.
“We just had to play big for him. I wanted to make the game the easiest possible for him, with this being his first start,” said Conner. “We have to score on defense; we did that, we had to play big, make the game smooth for him.”
Conner was the central piece in Steelers’ team this Sunday night. Of 256 yards the guests won last night, he contributes with 119. Some 41 were on the ground, and 78 through the air. Besides that, Conner had two touchdowns and was excellent when executing.
The guy who did most of the hard work for Tomlin’s squad was Benny Snell Jr, with 75 yards on the ground on 17 carries.
The defensive part of the assembly was also great, as they harrassed Rivers, who had two picks and a fumble, which resulted in a touchdown. The fantastic Devin Bush returned the fumble for 9 yards to score, and not only that, but he intercepted Rivers’ pass too.
LA’s quarterback couldn’t reach his breath up until the fourth period, but it was too late then. Chargers trailed 24-0 before the start of the final period, and although they scored 17 straight points in the ultimate 15 minutes, and even had a chance to tie the game, the win went to Pennsylvania.
The home team had an attack to tie the match, but Chase McLaughlin intercepted Rivers’ toss, with 41 seconds left.
“It’s pretty tough. I don’t know if we’ve been down by three touchdowns, but we’ve had a comeback like this before,” said Rivers, “It’s tough, but our guys believed. You saw we gave ourselves a chance. They pin you down there on the 1 and have to go 99 yards with no timeouts, that’s about as rough as it gets.”
He ended the game with 300 yards, two touchdowns, and interceptions each, throwing 26 of 40. Both of his TD passes went to Hunter Henry.
Now, the Chargers who are 2-4, have a tough task as they have to play three road games in the next four weeks. The first is against the Titans, then the Bears, followed by a home contest versus Green Bay. Afterward, Rivers and the guys head for Oakland.
As for the Steelers who are also 2-4, the next two games are vital. At first, they have the sorry Dolphins at home, and after that, the Colts. If they win, AFC North no.1 is still reachable for this unit.
