The Pittsburgh Steelers lost a shootout to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11. Here’s are my four biggest takeaways from the game.
Steelers fans were probably just about ready to call it a night after the Chargers were up 27-10 by the end of the third quarter. Surprisingly, Pittsburgh’s offense was able to make an impressive run late in the contest that included 24 fourth-quarter points.
Sadly, their efforts were all for not as Keith Butler’s defense ultimately surrendered 41 points in a loss that nobody could have expected would come down to the wire. There are both good and bad conclusions to draw from this game. Here are my four biggest takeaways from Pittsburgh’s performance in Week 11:
Steelers defensive injuries were the difference in the game
Prior to getting steamrolled by Justin Herbert and company to the tune of 41 points allowed, the Steelers hadn’t surrendered even a 30-point game in 40 regular-season contests, via Pro Football Reference. Unfortunately, that impressive streak was pulverized on Sunday Night Football.
The Steelers were without a plethora of defensive players in this contest, but the most notable losses were All-Pro defenders T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Herbert was extremely comfortable in the pocket without a player like Watt to harass him, while the threat of Minkah in the secondary could have been enough to slow down Herbert’s nearly perfect performance as a passer.
In addition to these losses, the team was without Joe Haden, Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu, Carlos Davis, and Isaiahh Loudermilk. Every team has big injuries, but Watt and Fitzpatrick being sidelined truly made the difference in this game.
Ben Roethlisberger played his best game of the season
Not all takeaways from Pittsburgh’s heartbreaking loss are bad. While the defense put up one of the worst performances we have seen since 2013, the offense looked more encouraging than it has since early in the 2020 season.
While the Chargers don’t exactly have a cream of the crop defense, Ben Roethlisberger was able to exploit them for his best game of the season. There were certainly a few risky throws on the night, but Roethlisberger was able to 28 of 44 passes for 273 yards and 3 touchdowns without turning the ball over. Though his 6.2 yards per attempt were modest, his 103.7 passer rating would suggest that he had a pretty good game.
More importantly, Ben’s strong performance was resulting in points on the board. On a typical week, if the team isn’t missing a third of their defense, 37 points would have been good enough to defeat any team in the league.
The offensive line is still worrisome for Pittsburgh, but it’s encouraging to see Ben Roethlisberger play so well — especially coming off the Reserve/COVID list and only logging one practice with his team over the past two weeks. Let’s hope his play is a sign of things to come.
Steelers depth on both sides of the ball is worrisome
If this game taught us one thing, it’s that we do not have the depth we can count on — both offensively and defensively. Starting with the latter, Pittsburgh’s backup defensive line (minus Cameron Heyward) did a terrible job in this contest.
In addition to allowing Justin Herbert all day to throw the football, they couldn’t collapse on the run to save their lives. Ultimately, they surrendered 159 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground on 6.1 yards per carry, via ESPN.
In the same way, the secondary really struggled with the losses of Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joe Haden. Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon looked awful when he was on the field, while rookie Tre Norwood was certainly not as comfortable in a full-time safety role.
While the offensive injuries weren’t as bad, losing offensive guard Kevin Dotson for this contest proved to be huge. After backup right guard, J.C. Hassenauer did not return to the game, the Steelers were forced to resort to reserve offensive lineman Joe Haeg (an offensive tackle by trade) to fill the role. On the final drive, Haeg gave up two huge sacks that would ultimately prove to be the final nail in the coffin.
There is no reason to trust the depth on this team in a pinch right now.
T.J. Watt makes a case for DPOY without even playing
T.J. Watt seemed to be making an excellent case for Defensive Player of the Year without suiting up for a single snap on Sunday Night Football. Dealing with both a hip and knee injury, Watt was unable to practice all week and was ruled out of this Week 11 contest vs Chargers.
With the All-Pro edge defender on the field, the Steelers have not surrendered a 30-point game since Week 1 of the 2019 season, and they’ve had one of the top-ranked defenses in each year since entering the league in 2017. However, it was clear to see just how important Watt was to Pittsburgh’s defensive gameplan as the team couldn’t do a thing right without him in this one.
While the Steelers still could have struggled at times with Watt on the field, you can’t convince me that he doesn’t make the difference in this game. Watt’s ability to get constant pressure and land a few early hits on the quarterback would have taken some of the confidence out of Justin Herbert in this one.
Watt not being able to suit up proved to be a massive blow to this defense, but it goes to show just how much he means to this team. He legitimately might be the most important defender to his team in all of football.
Losing the way the Steelers did is never easy to stomach, but at least there were a few positives to take away from this game. If Pittsburgh can get healthy soon, there’s reason enough to believe that this team could potentially make a playoff run — especially with the offense coming off its best performance of the year.