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| ARI at SEA | BAL at NYG | CHI at GB | CLE at BUF | DAL at WAS | DEN at ATL | DET at CAR | HOU at IND |
| MIN at TB | NO at KC | NYJ at NE | OAK at MIA | PHI at CIN | SD at PIT | STL at SF | TEN at JAX |
Week 11 Game Recap: San Diego Chargers 10, Pittsburgh Steelers 11
What you need to know
| San Diego Chargers |
Through 12,837 NFL games, there had never been a game with the final score 11-10. For the 2008 Chargers, that pretty much tells the story about how they find a new way to lose almost every week. This week, it was a combination of all the issues that have plagued them all season -- untimely turnovers, inability to establish the run, inability to stop the run, inability to apply pressure on the opposing quarterback, inability to connect on important field goals, the list goes on and on.
RB LaDainian Tomlinson's numbers are about as good as anyone could have hoped considering the opponent. The team utilized him perfectly in the passing game with screens, and his early touchdown turned what could have been a forgettable game into a surprisingly good one.
QB Philip Rivers was under pressure for a lot of the game, and never looked comfortable. In addition to being sacked twice, he threw two interceptions (including only the second red zone interception of his career). He also gave up a safety.
The Chargers suffered a number of injuries to a defense that is already not very good. CB Quentin Jammer and Antonio Cromartie, DL Luis Castillo and Jacques Cesaire, and LB Stephen Cooper all left the game at various points for different ailments. Castillo and Cesaire failed to return. Cromartie was shaken up on the next to last play of the game.
| Pittsburgh Steelers |
On a day when he failed to lead his team into the end zone, QB Ben Roethlisberger still played an outstanding game. He completed 76% of his passes for over 300 yards, didn't make a single costly mistake, and made good reads and smart decisions from the opening snap to the final whistle.
WR Hines Ward was Roethlisberger's go-to guy, as the wintry conditions prevented the team from looking too far down the field. Ward was the perfect possession receiver, hauling in a game high eleven passes for 124 yards.
RB Willie Parker grinded out 115 tough, hard fought yards against a San Diego defense that appeared ready to go at the outset. However, Parker wore them down throughout the game and was picking up large chunks of yardage by the end of the game.
What you ought to know
| QB Philip Rivers, Pass: 15 - 26 - 164 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - 5 - 0 |
From the outset, Rivers never really looked all that comfortable. The Steelers didn't give him a lot of time in the pocket (though they only sacked him twice) and the weather conditions prevented him from looking too far downfield anyway. His first interception wasn't really his fault, as Vincent Jackson was unable to hang onto the pass. It deflected in the air, and S Troy Polamalu made a remarkable play to control the ball and intercept it. The second turnover was clearly Rivers' fault. He tried forcing a weak pass to Jackson in the front corner of the end zone, but failed to see LB James Harrison sliding across the coverage. He easily picked it off, only the second red zone interception of Rivers' career. His other costly mistake was a second quarter safety. Announcers Phil Simms and Jim Nantz praised Harrison for his quickness in getting to the ball, but the reality is that Rivers held the ball for far too long in the end zone. They put a clock on him, and he had it for over three seconds before Harrison knocked it free. Fortunately for San Diego, LT Ryan McNeill fell on the football and recovered it for a safety rather than a Pittsburgh touchdown. Rivers' third glaring mistake of the afternoon came during the drive that would eventually lead to the go-ahead field goal. On a second down pass late in the fourth quarter, he tried forcing the ball to Jackson once again. This time, it wasn't intercepted but CB Ike Taylor had his hands all over it for a near-pick. Following an incomplete fade pass to TE Antonio Gates on third down, the Chargers kicked a field goal that gave them a brief lead.
| RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Rush: 18 - 57 - 1, Rec: 3 - 45 - 0 (4 targets) |
While the final stat line will look good (97 total yards and a touchdown), it was actually a very frustrating game for Tomlinson. He looked good early on and moved the chains late, but in between the Chargers could get nothing going on the ground. With their inability to establish a solid ground game, their defense was on the field for far too long and was simply worn out by the end of the game. Tomlinson's touchdown run was a sneaky run, as he shiftily maneuvered in from four yards out while being helped along by some solid blocking up-front. It was his first rushing touchdown in 93 rushing attempts. The Chargers also utilized Tomlinson perfectly on several screen passes, one of which went for 26 yards. He was coming around on the ground late in the contest as well, and hit yet another milestone in going over 15,000 career yards from scrimmage. But just as he was starting to establish a rhythm, the Steelers got the ball back. They proceeded to run 6:30 off the clock and regain the lead, leaving the Chargers with just eleven seconds remaining. Near the end of the game, Tomlinson was very visibly frustrated on the sidelines and yelling at someone. He looked healthy and the offensive line did a job that was better than expected; it's just that the quality of the opponent got in the way of him turning in a legitimately big game.
| RB Darren Sproles, Rush: 1 - 0 - 0, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Sproles, whose game is predicated on speed and quick cuts, was ill-suited to do much damage in a game with these field conditions. The surface was very slick, with several players losing their footing at times. And with just three offensive touches for nine yards, it appears the Chargers' staff felt the same way.
| WR Chris Chambers, Rec: 3 - 21 - 0 (4 targets) |
Very quickly, Chambers has dropped from the number one receiving option in the offense to the fourth option at best. He caught a pass early in the first half, then didn't catch another until the fourth quarter. To make matters worse, his longest reception of the game was just eleven yards. To make matters the worst, the San Diego offense is unable to sustain drives lately. And the defense can't get off the field. So with so many outstanding skill position players on the Chargers, they simply don't have enough time or enough footballs to go around to make all of those players relevant fantasy-wise. And lately, the player suffering the most from that is clearly Chambers.
| WR Vincent Jackson, Rec: 2 - 25 - 0 (9 targets) |
Jackson had a key reception on third and ten late in the fourth quarter that put the Chargers on the six yard line. He also drew a very questionable pass interference penalty in the end zone. That was pretty much the extent of the positives for his afternoon. Besides those two plays, he dropped a pass that resulted in a Troy Polamalu interception, he was the target of the other Pittsburgh interception, was the target of a third pass that was very nearly intercepted, and generally had a difficult time gaining separation from the Pittsburgh defensive backs.
| WR Malcom Floyd, Rec: 2 - 29 - 0 (2 targets) |
Floyd saw the fifth most targets on the team, yet was second in receiving yardage. That should tell you all you need to know about how productive the big guys were. That is, not very productive. Floyd's first reception of the game was actually ruled an incomplete pass initially. It was inside of two minutes in the first half, so replay officials called for a review. It was determined that Floyd had slid and got his knee down inbounds prior to going out. His second grab was a huge 15 yard connection on third and nine early in the fourth quarter. That reception extended the drive and led to what was almost the game-winning field goal.
| TE Antonio Gates, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (5 targets) |
Gates had one of the quietest games of his career, and failed to catch a single pass after halftime. He was targeted in the end zone on a corner fade, but the pass should have actually been thrown short. The defender was behind Gates and if the route had been a quick stop or a curl, he'd have likely beaten his man very easily.
| TE Brandon Manumaleuna, Rec: 1 - 17 - 0 (1 targets) |
Manumaleuna caught just one pass, but it was a very nice grab on a ball thrown behind him as he was moving across the field.
| PK Nate Kaeding 1 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 4 points |
Kaeding was called upon to hit a 42 yard field goal late in the third quarter, but he pushed it wide right. The miss wasn't very costly, as San Diego drove downfield on their next possession and Kaeding connected on a chip shot from 22 yards out.
| SD Rush Defense |
Things looked promising early on for San Diego when they were able to stuff Willie Parker on a third and one carry. They later made a huge momentum swinging goal line stand when they held up Mewelde Moore at the goal line on a fourth down carry. But after that, the Chargers run defense fell apart. Somehow, the defensive line played very well but the team was still run all over. Much like what happened to this team last year against the Vikings when DE Luis Castillo left with an injury (that was the game Adrian Peterson broke the single-game rushing record), in this game when Castillo left with an injury to his groin, Willie Parker picked up large chunks of yardage at a time, finishing with 115 on the ground. To make matters worse, little used backup Gary Russell came in for two short yardage carries and easily converted both of them. One of the conversions allowed Pittsburgh to pick up a much-needed third down to extend a drive that eventually led to a field goal.
In addition to the Castillo injury, DL Jacques Cesaire also limped off late in the fourth quarter with an injury of his own.
| SD Pass Defense |
All of the problems that have plagued the Chargers in this aspect were in full effect in this game. They got good pressure on Ben Roethlisberger in the first half, sacking him three times. They even added a fourth sack early in the fourth quarter, a very timely play that knocked the Steelers out of field goal range. But those pressure plays were very far between. When they didn't sack Roethlisberger, they were actually nowhere near him. The defensive coverage didn't fare much better. CB Quentin Jammer did a fine job on WR Santonio Holmes, twice knocking away deep balls down the sideline. But the rest of the secondary apparently took the afternoon off, allowing both Hines Ward and TE Matt Spaeth plenty of room to roam for all the underneath passes they could handle. The duo of Ward/Spaeth combined to catch 17 passes for 179 yards on almost exclusively short curls and slants. Basically, the defense under new coordinator Ron Rivera looked an awful lot like the one under Ted Cotrell, with a handful of extra sacks here and there.
CB Antonio Cromartie appeared to have been hurt on a lateral attempt during the last kick return of the game. No update was given on his condition, as it was the next to last play of the game.
| QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pass: 31 - 41 - 308 - 0 TD / 0 INT |
Despite failing to get his team into the end zone, Roethlisberger played nearly a perfect game. He made good, quick reads on just about every pass and never came close to turning the ball over. The Pittsburgh plan of attack was to use quick routes and short curls to move the ball, very similar to what Denver employed to beat the Chargers back in Week 2. He just took what the defense gave him, which on most plays was a lot. He had to fight off some early pressure from the San Diego defense, which sacked him three times in the first half. They got to him just once after halftime, however, and Hines Ward and Matt Spaeth found the soft spots in the defense almost at will. The one time he was asked to make a big play downfield was on a pass to Hines Ward that went for thirty yards. He had to thread the needle between three defenders to get the ball to Ward, and he was able to do just that. Roethlisberger was unable to pick up a touchdown pass, and the closest he came to one was on a seven yard completion to Nate Washington from the eight yard line. Obviously that means Washington fell a yard shy of the end zone, a drive that resulted in Mewelde Moore being stuffed for a one yard loss on fourth down and goal from the one.
At one point, it appeared he slightly tweaked his knee after slipping and then being twisted awkwardly to the ground, but he remained in and showed no ill effects.
| RB Willie Parker, Rush: 25 - 115 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets) |
There were a number of gaping holes made available to Parker all game long, and he did well to take advantage of those opportunities with a lot of nice runs. His long gain went for just 13 yards, yet he still got to 115 yards on his 25 carries -- evidence of just how consistently he ran the football. He also had a four yard touchdown on Pittsburgh's final possession get nullified by a penalty.
One troubling item was that Mewelde Moore was brought in at the goal line for an attempted touchdown run on fourth down late in the first quarter. He wasn't successful. Parker himself had converted a third and one run earlier in the quarter, so it didn't seem to be a huge concern that he wasn't in on the goal line play. However, Parker was stuffed on a third and one attempt later in the second quarter. And on the following two short yardage runs, it was Gary Russell who got the call -- converting both of them into first downs. It could be a big ado about nothing, or Russell could have just thrown his hat into the ring to see a greater share of short yardage and goal line work. Either way, it's something for Parker owners to keep an eye on. One of the biggest reasons for his turnaround this season has been that he is getting the goal line work, and losing that could prove detrimental to his fantasy value going forward. It should be noted as a reminder that he did get the call on the aforementioned run from the four yard line late in the fourth quarter.
| RB Mewelde Moore, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0, Rec: 5 - 33 - 0 (5 targets) |
Moore saw a handful of touches out of the backfield as a receiver mostly on third down, and had just one rushing attempt in the game. It came on a fourth down handoff late in the first quarter. He was stuffed on the play and actually knocked backwards one yard. He didn't get another carry in the game, and third stringer Gary Russell converted two short yardage rushes later on.
| RB Gary Russell, Rush: 2 - 10 - 0 |
Russell may have worked himself into the mix for the role of short yardage back with this game. After Willie Parker and Mewelde Moore were stuffed in short yardage situations in the first half, Russell converted two third and one carries in the third quarter to help preserve drives. He hit the hole hard and picked up much more than what was needed, gaining six on his first carry and four on the second.
| WR Hines Ward, Rec: 11 - 124 - 0 (12 targets) |
Ward was consistently the favorite target of Ben Roethlisberger, evidenced by his game high eleven receptions for 124 yards. Ward, and the entire Pittsburgh passing game for that matter, attacked the Chargers with a lot of short, quick passes. Ward's entire afternoon consisted mainly of running ten yards upfield, stopping for a quick curl, making the catch, and turning upfield for a few more yards. He wasn't targeted on any deep balls, nor was he thrown to in the end zone (Pittsburgh never got close enough to the end zone to actually put a ball in the end zone), but he proved that he's still the key to the passing game in any weather conditions. He did the majority of his damage with CB Antonio Cromartie covering him, and the way he was utilized was very similar to the way the Broncos utilized Brandon Marshall back in Week 2. So if you've got any tough, physical receivers who like to pick up yardage after the catch, it might be a good idea to start them when they play San Diego.
| WR Santonio Holmes, Rec: 5 - 63 - 0 (10 targets) |
On a day when the snow and wind made throwing the ball downfield very difficult, Holmes' bread-and-butter was missing. The deep ball wasn't a large feature of the Steeler playbook, though they did take two shots downfield to Holmes. However, both attempts were broken up at the last moment by CB Quentin Jammer, and neither was all that close to being completed. Holmes did have a solid afternoon working the middle of the field, but if he doesn't pull in that one deep ball per game he's going to be second fiddle to Hines Ward more often than not. He was involved in a crucial play late in the first half when he caught a short pass along the sideline. The clock was running and Pittsburgh had no timeouts left. Holmes needed to get out of bounds, which he did, but it appeared that he was actually lunging for the end zone and got knocked out of bounds by a defender. If he went out on his own, it was an intelligent play to set up a field goal (points the Steelers would obviously go on to badly need). If he was trying to get in for a touchdown, it was a selfish, foolish play that could have very easily cost his team a victory.
| WR Nate Washington, Rec: 2 - 14 - 0 (5 targets) |
Washington has made a habit of turning very little opportunity into very large production, but that was missing in this game. Not only did he fail to catch a deep ball, he wasn't even targeted on a deep ball. He didn't catch a pass after halftime, and he had a dropped pass to boot. He nearly scored on a third down reception late in the first quarter, but despite breaking a couple of arm tackles he was still a yard shy of the goal line. Mewelde Moore was then stuffed on a fourth down carry as Pittsburgh came away with nothing.
| TE Matt Spaeth, Rec: 6 - 55 - 0 (7 targets) |
Spaeth performed extremely well in the absence of starter Heath Miller, who missed the game due to injury. It comes as no surprise that Spaeth had a career day against San Diego, considering the success opposing tight ends have enjoyed all season long against this team. He got dinged up after his first reception, was briefly replaced by Sean McHugh, and came back in to carve up the middle of the field. Spaeth was constantly open underneath, which meshed perfectly with Pittsburgh's plan of attacking San Diego with the short passing game. Therefore, his long gain of the afternoon went for just eleven yards but he did plenty of damage with his six receptions.
| PK Jeff Reed 3 - 4 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 9 points |
Reed badly hooked a 51 yard field goal well to the left on his first attempt, and his 41 yarder to give Pittsburgh the lead barely snuck in around the left upright. The weather conditions were far from ideal, with snow in the air and a driving wind for most of the game. Still, Reed is now 9-9 in his career on field goals in the final two minutes of the game or overtime.
| PIT Rush Defense |
Pittsburgh opened the game looking a bit lethargic to contain the run. LaDainian Tomlinson looked quicker than the Pittsburgh defenders, and was consistently getting to the second level of the defense. He wasn't busting huge runs, but he was moving the chains. After his first eight carries, he had 35 yards and a touchdown. Over the next quarter and a half, he had just four carries for minus five yards as San Diego was having a lot of difficulty moving the ball. On a fourth quarter drive that eventually ended with a field goal, Tomlinson had four carries for 27 yards, and looked as good as he had all day. But it was too little, too late, as Pittsburgh's offense immediately grinded out a six and a half minute drive and a game-winning field goal. Tomlinson didn't see another carry, as San Diego had just eleven seconds left in the game. A key aspect for Pittsburgh's solid job against the run was that their own running and passing game performed so efficiently. The Steelers controlled the ball for 36:31, leaving the Chargers with just 23:29 to try and establish a rushing attack. They couldn't.
| PIT Pass Defense |
The Steelers applied just enough pressure on Philip Rivers to make him very uncomfortable all game long. They only sacked him twice, hardly an outrageous total. But one of them went for a safety that was very nearly a touchdown. And they were in his face a number of times just as he released the ball, narrowly avoiding the sack. He turned the ball over twice, though one was more a product of a great play than Rivers making a mistake. S Troy Polamalu turned in one of the best individual highlights of the season, or any season. After WR Vincent Jackson had a pass bounce off his hands, Polamalu fully extended himself and reached out his hand to try and intercept the deflection. As the ball got within an inch or two of the ground, Polamalu (still falling, mind you) cradled the ball in his hands, maintained possession as he jarred against the ground, and had the presence of mind to then get up and actually run with it a bit. He slipped and fell on the wet field during the return, otherwise it may have gone for a touchdown. Polamalu actually had a touchdown stolen from him by the officials on the final play of the game. The Chargers trailed by one point with only seconds remaining, and tried a series of laterals to get downfield. Polamalu, however, blew up the play by deflecting the ball away. He picked it up and ran into the end zone for a touchdown to make the score 17-10. Officials convened several times before deciding to disallow the score. Afterwards, they acknowledged their mistake and said that the score should have counted.
CB Ike Taylor nearly iced the game even earlier. With San Diego driving for the go-ahead field goal, Taylor had a ball thrown right in his hands in the end zone that he dropped. Had he held on, he had no one in front of him for a potential score.