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INGLEWOOD, CA — Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers had the incomprehensible skill of blowing double-digit wires and losing at the last minute.
Not anymore.
Herbert threw a 53 yard touch feed Mike Williams 2:17 left when Chargers gathered to keep the Pittsburgh Steelers 41-37 despite a 17-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
Five of Chargers ’six wins this season have been a fourth-quarter return. Last season, they lost five times in the lead in the fourth.
“We had our best thing at the end,” first-year coach Brandon Staley said. “I feel like we’ve shown real things in 10 games. I’m really proud of this group. This game was definitely one of my favorites.
Herbert is the Fifth quarterback in NFL history to throw in at least 300 yards and score at least 90 yards in the same game. He fed 382 yards and rushed 90, the most in Chargers ’QB in the game.
“We did a great job moving the ball and responding back when we needed to,” said Herbert, who scored 30 passes out of 41. “It definitely went a little too close. We had a chance to leave it out. The defense did a great job with the stops, and then we collected points, which was a huge day for us.
Los Angeles (6-4) led 27-10 into the fourth quarter before the Steelers (5-4-1) took the lead 37-34 with Chris Boswell’s 45-yard finish 3:24 left. Los Angeles took power at 25 and made four games later when Herbert found Williams between corner defender and safety. Williams, who was 97 yards with five grabs, grabbed the ball from the Steelers ’36-yard line and went untouched to the left sideline.
“We originally called out the route to Keenan, but the corner support covered the flat really hard. Justin told me to be ready. I was open and ran straight to the finish line,” said Williams, who had five receptions at 97 yards.
Austin Ekeler set a career record of four touchdowns and 115 scrimmage yards (65 receptions, 50 rushes). He is the ninth player in the Super Bowl era to have at least two rushes and two goals in a match.
Chargers made a 533-yard attack, the fourth-highest since 2000. It’s also the eighth-largest steelers in the history of franchising.
“I thought we had them,” said Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson, who had seven catches at 101 yards. “But it’s football. Things are going to happen and we didn’t react as we should.”
Roethlisberger described the challenges he had in trying to prepare over the past week.
“It’s hard not to get an exercise perspective, not to look at the exercises from behind,” he said. “It’s different to watch it from a movie at night. It’s certainly a different process, but we survived it.
Two of the Pittsburgh rally points were due to Chargers ’mistakes. Harris scored a 1-yard run and got the Steelers 27-20 after four games. Miles Killebrew blocked Ty Long’s strike and rolled out of bounds in LA 3.
Ekeler lifted Chargers back by two points with their fourth result of the game before the Steelers scored 17 points in a row, leading the way. Roethlisberger joined Eric Ebron to get a 5-yard TD and lifted them 34-27 tons. On the next run, Cameron Sutton picked up Herbert’s feed for Allen and returned it to 10. Pat Freiermuth leveled it three games later with a 5-yard TD run.
After Williams’ approval, Pittsburgh took power at 25. Roethlisberger was fired twice and the Steelers eventually turned it downhill in 3, where the Chargers eventually ran 1:15.
QUICK START
Chargers scored their first five goals for the first time since 2017 against Washington. Ekeler decided to drive three in the TD and lifted Los Angeles 7-3 to the top with a 6-yard left tackle.
Ekeler increased his lead 14-3 with a second quarter left at 3:42 a 10-yard reception at Herbert’s check-in. His best play of the night, though came in his third TD, as he took the box from Herbert, steeped Steelers corner defender James Pierre, cut off Terrell Edmunds’ tackle, and then pulled Taco Charlton into the final 3 yards to the finish line, making the situation 24-10 in three minutes.
“It was definitely a special evening. I was able to take advantage of what I had in front of me and ended up in the finish line,” he said.
QUESTION CALL
Heyward seemed to hit Josh Palmer and Herbert after Herbert’s 36-yard fight. Authorities called for unnecessary irregularities, but did not eliminate Heyward.
Walt Anderson, senior vice president in charge of serving as a judge, said in a pool report: “It just didn’t look like it would rise to the level of error that would lead to rejection.”
Heyward said there was nothing harmful about it and that “I don’t think I tried to hit him, but I know it looks worse than it’s slowed down.”
Herbert said he was not injured in the play.
OFFENSES
Steelers: TE Eric Ebron could not return due to a knee injury. … OL JC Hassenauer injured his chest muscles and is being re-evaluated. … DB Arthur Maulet injured his neck and did not return according to coach Mike Tomlin.
Chargers: CB Asante Samuel Jr. suffered a concussion during the fourth quarter. … Assistant lineup coach Shaun Sarrett skipped the game due to non-COVID illness.
NEXT
Steelers: In Cincinnati on Sunday.
Chargers: Denver on Sunday.
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Sources 2/ https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap/_/gameId/401326492 The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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