Live on Sunday Night Football, the Los Angeles Chargers (7-3) secured a strong victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4), 25-10 at SoFi Stadium.
While the win was significant for Los Angeles, concerns have arisen for Pittsburgh as their starting quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, threw for what was the second-worst game of his 20-year career.
A stat line that acts as a reflection of the entire team’s play, as the game would begin with Pittsburgh struggling to find its rhythm out of the offense.
Their opening drives would end unsuccessfully, resulting in the team resorting to Chris Boswell for a field goal to go up by three.
Little did Pittsburgh know that would be their only play of meaning for the remainder of the first half, as towards the tail end of the first quarter, due to increased pressure applied by Los Angeles’s defense, Pittsburgh would give up a safety.
Entering the second quarter, Pittsburgh attempted to mount a comeback as the defense continued to rush Los Angeles’s starting quarterback, Justin Herbert, limiting his effectiveness.
Despite their efforts, Hebert would manage a passing touchdown to Ladd McConkey with less than a minute remaining.
With the previously made field goal from Cameron Dicker earlier in the quarter, Los Angeles went up by six to end the half.
However, the third quarter proved to be similar to Pittsburgh, as Dicker would continue his hot streak with another field goal to extend the team’s lead to twelve.
The game would be put further out of reach for Pittsburgh when, after an uneventful third quarter, Herbert would connect to Kimani Vidal in the endzone for another touchdown.
Even with a last-minute touchdown from Rodgers to Roman Wilson in the fourth quarter, their efforts would still result in a defeat for Pittsburgh.
What else was expected from the six-time Super Bowl champions? A poor completion rate from the quarterback and an overworked defense spelled disaster for Pittsburgh.
On the other hand, while Los Angeles secured the victory, many agree that the AFC West leaders did not play particularly well, highlighted by the injury scare to Herbert.
Other Week 10 results include:
- Denver Broncos (8-2) def. Las Vegas Raiders (2-7): 10-7
- Indianapolis Colts (8-2) def. Atlanta Falcons (3-6): 31-25
- Chicago Bears (6-3) def. New York Giants (2-8): 24-20
- Miami Dolphins (3-7) def. Buffalo Bills (6-3): 30-13
- Baltimore Ravens (4-5) def. Minnesota Vikings (4-5): 27-19
- New York Jets (2-7) def. Cleveland Browns (2-7): 27-20
- New England Patriots (8-2) def. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3): 28-23
- New Orleans Saints (2-8) def. Carolina Panthers (5-5): 17-7
- Houston Texans (4-5) def. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-4): 36-29
- Seattle Seahawks (7-2) def. Arizona Cardinals (3-6): 44-22
- Los Angeles Rams (7-2) def. San Fransisco 49ers (6-4): 42-26
- Detroit Lions (6-3) def. Washington Commanders (3-7): 44-22
- Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) def. Green Bay Packers (5-3-1-): 10-7
Looking forward, Pittsburgh aims to regain momentum as it has a highly anticipated rematch against Cincinnati at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.
A game of significance, as Pittsburgh looks to further separate itself from its AFC North rival in Baltimore.
At the same time, Los Angeles hopes to maintain their three-game win streak against Jacksonville at EverBank Stadium.
Nonetheless, while both teams are expected to make the playoffs, AFC title contention does not seem to be in their future.
