(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The Steelers came out on fire, offense and defense alike. Taking a 28-0 lead in the third quarter, this game appeared to be over.
Once again, the Steelers struggled to close out the game, due to a couple of unfortunate events. A fumble by Stefan Logan on a punt return, which in my opinion should have been called down as his forward progress was stopped.
Following the Chargers touchdown that resulted from the fumble, Ryan Mundy was unable to catch an onside kick that hit right in the chest. This gave the Chargers another touchdown and the Steelers only had a seven-point lead.
The Steelers offensive picked back up where they left off and continued to dominate the Chargers defense any way they chose to. Roethlisberger and Mendenhall led the team into field goal range, and Jeff Reed got back to being J-Money and hit the field goal to seal the win.
The Report Card
Quarterbacks
Roethlisberger was given more freedom this game and well...he was simply Roethlisberger. He torched the Chargers defense through the air on the first drive and the trend continued.
He thew the ball 33 times, completing 26 passes for 333 yards. He made key plays to keep the Steelers defense resting on the sideline, and keeping a gassed Chargers defense on the field. He threw two touchdowns, a nice touch pass to Heath Miller in the corner of the end zone and a short pass to Mewelde Moore who made a few guys miss to put the ball in the paint. Most importantly Ben didn't turn the ball over he recovered his only fumble. A
Running Backs
An injury to Willie Parker would sideline him for the week, leaving Rashard Mendenhal with starting duties. The Steelers also activated Isaac "Red Zone" Redman from the practice squad to add to the backfield depth.
Mendy was in the doghouse the previous week with a few bad practices, and didn't step on the field in the Steelers loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. He apparently got the message as he took over this game.
The Steelers have had success running on San Diego in the recent past, and that trend continued. Mendenhall hit the hole, fast and violently, which is what Pittsburgh has been missing.
He broke off a few big runs and helped put the Chargers away with the late running attack that the Steelers have been missing to close out games. Mendenhall has put himself in position to take the starting job away from Parker with a few more good performances.
He carried the ball 29 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 26 yards. Mendenhall also showed his mean side in pass protection; he wasn't scared to throw his body at pass rushers to give Roethlisberger some extra time.
Mewelde Moore also did his part once again, quietly being the Steelers most consistent player. On third down, teams better watch this game, he's Pittsburgh's version of Kevin Faulk. Moore had a receiving touchdown as he caught the ball made defenders miss and broke a few tackles barreling his way into the endzone.
He also threw a touchdown out of the backfield to Heath Miller in the back of the endzone. Redman did not see the field. Mendenhall A+ Moore A Redman Inc
Fullbacks
The Steelers brought back Carey Davis earlier in the week after an injury to David Johnson in last week's game. Davis didn't have a problem getting back in the swing of things and Mendenhall followed his block several times to get the hard yards. Davis B
Wide Receivers
Limas Sweed was inactive for this game, after a key drop in Cincinnati, Tomlin has put Sweed in the doghouse. That left Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace, and Shaun McDonald as the Steelers receivers corps for the week four game against San Diego.
Hines Ward once again was the workhorse. Why do people let this guy go wide open? Ward grabbed eight passes for 113 yards. He kept the chains moving several times, though he did have two key drops late in the game. One almost resulted in an interception for the Chargers defense.
Santonio Holmes again has not been as effective as he was against the Titans in week one, but he did his part. He pulled in
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