Steelers fight back only to lose a heartbreaker to the Chargers in Week 11

The Pittsburgh Steelers gave it their all, but they couldn’t overcome their defensive injuries against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11. 

Even with the news that Ben Roethlisberger was going to start for the Steelers this week, Pittsburgh was still 6.0-point underdogs against the Chargers on Monday Night Football, according to WynnBET. Still, with a plethora of injuries, I don’t think anyone could have predicted how this game would have turned out.

The Steelers were clearly missing T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick in this contest, as the Chargers rushed ahead early in the game. Quarterback Justin Herbert was having a field day against a depleted defense as he chewed up yardage through the air as well as on the ground. By the end of the third quarter Los Angeles had put up 27 points, and the worst was yet to come.

Pittsburgh trailed by as much as 17 points in this contest. In fact, they didn’t take the lead for the first time until there was just 3:24 remaining in regulation when Chis Boswell put converted a 45-yard field goal that put the Steelers up 37-34.

Sadly, their efforts were to no avail. The Chargers rushed down the field and scored a touchdown in less than a minute and a half. The Steelers had a chance to operate a two-minute drill to potentially win the game, but backup offensive lineman, Joe Haeg, gave up back-to-back sacks in Pittsburgh’s final position that would ultimately seal their fate.

Pittsburgh would go on to lose 37-41 — dropping their record on the season to 5-4-1. This was not the defensive showing this team was hoping for, but the results would have been much different if they didn’t have so many injuries on defense.

Steelers defensive injuries sealed their fate in loss

I’m not making excuses for how Pittsburgh played. Their defense was atrocious, and they deserved to lose this game. However, you can’t convince me the results would have been the same if Watt (hip/knee) and Fitzpatrick (Reserve/COVID) would have been available for this contest.

The Steelers struggled immensely to get any sort of pressure on Herbert in this contest. The young quarterback ripped them apart for 382 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air while averaging a whopping 9.3 yards per attempt, via ESPN.

Prior to Week 11, Keith Butler’s defense had not allowed a 30-point game in 40 straight contests, according to Pro Football Reference. However, they surrendered an embarrassingly high 41 on Sunday Night Football.

This, no doubt, has a direct correlation with T.J. Watt’s inability to suit up in this game, and losing Fitzpatrick in the secondary didn’t help. In addition to missing these two All-Pros, the Steelers were without CB Joe Haden, DL Isaiahh Loudermilk, and DT Carlos Davis. The team has also been without DL Stephon Tuitt all season and DT Tyson Alualu since early in the year.

Still, Pittsburgh nearly was able to pull off an incredible comeback victory. Despite the poor defense, Ben Roethlisberger played his best game of the season, and this team gave us some reason for optimism once the Steelers are finally healthy. This was a tough loss to stomach, but Pittsburgh’s season is far from over after the heartbreaking loss to the Chargers.