Steelers vs. Chargers: Full Pittsburgh Preview

Sitting at 2-2, the Pittsburgh Steelers probably are kicking themselves (no pun intended) for letting the game against the Baltimore Ravens slip away last Thursday.

Now, the Steelers must go on the road—let alone to the West Coast, where they historically struggle—to face the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football.

Second-year receiver Martavis Bryant will make his return to the lineup following a four-game suspension for multiple failed drug tests.

The addition of Bryant back into the fold should help the offense out immensely by drawing coverage away from Antonio Brown while also pulling an extra defender out of the box. That will allow for more running room for Le'Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams, who should see his number of carries rise this week against a Chargers defense that allows the fourth-most rushing yards per game in the NFL (126.6).

Additionally, the Steelers offense shouldn't look as awful as it did in the second half against Baltimore considering Todd Haley and Mike Vick had 10 full days to prepare a game plan to beat the Chargers.

Defensively, Pittsburgh should be able to put a ton of pressure on San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers, who will draw the tough assignment of playing behind a beat-up offensive line for the second straight week.

Pittsburgh also has to worry about rookie running back Melvin Gordon gashing it in the running game, much like Ravens running back Justin Forsett did one week ago. Add into the mix running back Danny Woodhead—a matchup nightmare on his own out of the backfield—and it's clear the Chargers are primed to do damage out of the backfield once again.

Plus, the Steelers defense won't catch much of a break in terms of opposing tight ends in this one, as Chargers star tight end Antonio Gates will return from his own four-game suspension as well. Through the first four games of the season, the Steelers have struggled to contain tight ends outside of Baltimore's Maxx Williams last week.

Gates is a tough test for a young Steelers defense, especially considering the number of weapons Rivers has at his disposal.

The Steelers are also now on their fourth kicker of the season after they cut Josh Scobee following his two missed field goals in the loss to the Ravens. Former Houston Texans and New York Giants kicker Chris Boswell is the new kicker in Pittsburgh. The fourth time around has to work, right?

If this game were at Heinz Field, the feeling surrounding it would be different for Pittsburgh. But because the Steelers have to make their dreaded trip to the West Coast without Ben Roethlisberger at the helm, the bad feeling is hard to shake.

Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Week 4 Results and Recap

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The debacle that was Thursday Night Football last week still opens deep wounds when it's brought up.

Pittsburgh led Baltimore, 20-7, in the third quarter following Vick's bullet of a pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey for a nine-yard touchdown. But that would be it for the Steelers offensively in the second half thanks to poor play-calling, execution and flat-out awful late-game coaching on both sides of the ball.

Early on, Pittsburgh was dominant on the ground doing whatever it wanted in the running game against a soft Baltimore front seven in the first half. Bell rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown in the loss but inexplicably didn't see the ball on two straight controversial short-yardage calls in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Vick tried to run a quarterback sweep late in the fourth quarter and was stuffed well short. Then, in overtime, Vick threw high and behind Brown—whose streak of having five catches for at least 50 yards ended at 35 games—on a 4th-and-1 play.

The running game was dominant for much of the game, yet the Steelers avoided it when it mattered most.

Defensively, the Steelers did all that they could in the loss, sacking Joe Flacco five times and forcing two turnovers. However, Pittsburgh allowed nearly 200 rushing yards to Baltimore, which came into the game averaging just over 72 yards per game.

Forsett rushed for 150 yards for Baltimore, which overpowered the Steelers front seven for some big runs.

While the front seven struggled against the run, they were outstanding rushing the passer and putting heat on Flacco. James Harrison came up with a huge sack, while Cameron Heyward forced a fumble chasing down Flacco from behind.

Lawrence Timmons, Stephon Tuitt and Sean Spence also sacked Flacco in the loss.

Spence had his coming-out party for the Steelers defense, recording seven tackles and two tackles for a loss in place of the injured Ryan Shazier.

While the defense stood tall for much of the game, one can't help but get stuck on the fact that two missed field goals by Scobee were the difference in the loss.

If the former Steelers kicker made just one of those field goals, the Steelers would be at 3-1 and sitting pretty after their first full game without Roethlisberger.

Unfortunately, Scobee missed both kicks and was cut later in the week.

News and Notes

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Shazier, McCullers return to practice

After missing the last two games against St. Louis and Baltimore due to a shoulder injury, second-year linebacker Shazier returned to practice this week.

Along with Shazier, second-year defensive tackle Daniel McCullers returned to practice as well after dealing with a knee injury the past two weeks.

While the Steelers defense has played well the last two weeks without Shazier and McCullers, the pending return of both players will be a big boost to a defense that allowed nearly 200 rushing yards a week ago to the Ravens.

Following practice, Shazier directed all injury questions to Mike Tomlin, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review's Chris Adamski.

As far as playing on Monday night against San Diego, Shazier can't wait to get back on the field, he told Adamski following Monday's practice, "I just want to be out there with my guys, and I'm going to do whatever I can do to get back out there with him."

Wheaton nearing full health

Third-year receiver Markus Wheaton left the Ravens game with an ankle injury, but according to Steelers.com's Teresa Varley, the No. 2 receiver is nearing full health and should be good to go against the Chargers.

Wheaton suffered the ankle injury early in the game after rolling it, but the Steelers receiver tried to play through it before ultimately having to lead the game.

With Bryant back this week, having a healthy Wheaton out there alongside Brown, Bryant and Heyward-Bey will make it easier for Vick to have success through the air.

The former Oregon State product told Varley that he didn't feel Vick had a bad game against Baltimore, but the addition of Bryant and his own return to health will help out the veteran quarterback this week against San Diego:

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This game everybody will be a lot more comfortable. I am excited to see how he [Vick] will play. I don’t think he played bad at all the first game. I think he had a good game. I think he will have an even better game this week.

"

Lack of sacks for Jones doesn't concern Tomlin:

This was supposed to be a make-or-break year for third-year outside linebacker Jarvis Jones.

Through four games, the No. 17 overall pick in the 2012 draft has yet to record a sack for the Steelers. However, the fat zero in the sacks column for Jones isn't concerning to Mike Tomlin, according to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

According to Kaboly, Tomlin said that the number of limited pass-rushing opportunities—due to the game plans against St. Louis and Baltimore—is the reason Jones hasn't been able to bring down and opposing quarterback this year.

“We would bring the left outside linebackers probably three to four times more often than the right outside linebackers. Such is life. We are going to do things that give us a chance to win.”

In conclusion, don't read too much into Jones' lack of sacks through four games.

Latest Injury News

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Neither the Steelers nor the Chargers have released an official injury report as this time, but according to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Shazier is officially listed as questionable for Monday's game in San Diego. Tight end Matt Spaeth (broken hand), defensive tackle Daniel McCullers (knee) and cornerback Cortez Allen (knee) will all be re-evaluated later this week.

For San Diego, the laundry list of injuries is still quite long despite an official injury report for Week 5. Expected to miss Monday's game are offensive linemen King Dunlap and Orlando Franklin, while Chris Watt and DJ Fluker remain questionable, according to Chargers.com.

The biggest concern for the Chargers is in the secondary, as Jason Verrett, Brandon Flowers, Craig Mager and Jahleel Addae are all dealing with injuries.

Check back for more updates as the week progresses.

Key Matchups

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Steelers offensive line vs. Chargers front seven

Offensively for Pittsburgh, the Steelers have to pound the ball on the ground against San Diego.

As a power-running football team, the Steelers must take advantage of the fourth-worst run defense in the NFL through four weeks.

That means the big hogs up front have to be in attack mode from the start.

Against Baltimore, the Steelers did whatever they wanted to, really, throughout the game on the ground, as Bell racked up 129 yards and a score on 22 carries. Along with Bell, the Steelers need to utilize Williams as much as possible in this game as well.

To beat the Chargers, you have to pound them into submission on the ground. The Steelers have the ability to do that with Bell and Williams as a one-two punch in the backfield.

With the offensive line holding a serious advantage over the Chargers front seven in this one, it will be interesting to see if Haley keeps it simple this week.

Antonio Gates vs. Steelers defense

The veteran tight end is just one touchdown away from 100 for his career, so it's a safe bet that he gets it against Pittsburgh, which has struggled to defend its opponents' tight end through the first four games of the season.

While Gates is no Rob Gronkowski at this point in his career, the former college basketball player is a savvy tight end who runs crisp routes, knows how to get open and has great rapport with Rivers.

Add into the discussion the fact that he's well-rested and motivated to prove a point to the league following his four-game suspension, it could get ugly for the Steelers if they fail to slow down Gates.

Matchup X-Factor

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Markus Wheaton

With his return to health following the ankle injury he suffered against the Ravens on Thursday night, the third-year receiver could be in for a big game against the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football.

Knowing that Bryant will suit up in this one and the fact that Brown is still a top-three receiver in the NFL, that could mean Wheaton will see tons of one-on-one coverage while attention is shifted toward Brown and Bryant.

Last week against Baltimore, Vick ran a conservative offense, especially in the passing game. That can't be the case against San Diego if the Steelers won to avoid going 2-3 to start the year.

Wheaton should see plenty of action on favorable matchups in this one, allowing him to exploit the middle of the field where Vick should be able to find him early and often.

He's a relative afterthought in the high-powered Steelers offense, but he can still burn defenses when left alone. That could be the case against the Chargers.

Prediction: Chargers 21, Steelers 16

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Without factoring in the West Coast trip, it just seems like this is another game the Pittsburgh Steelers will fail to win without Roethlisberger.

The amount of weapons that Rivers has offensively is astounding. It might be right up there with the Steelers in terms of the number of above-average options despite the limited number of big-name players.

With that said, the key for the Steelers in this one will be to run the ball as much as possible in a ball-control-style offense to keep Rivers and his weapons on the bench.

The Steelers running game was so good just one week ago, so it's hard to imagine they won't rely on it more often against the fourth-worst run defense in the NFL through four weeks.

However, with Vick making his second straight start under center, it becomes more likely that the Chargers stack the box, forcing Vick—not Bell and Williams—to beat them on the road in prime time.

The confidence in Vick just isn't there yet to get the job done, and I'm not sure it ever will be until Roethlisberger returns.

Expect plenty of Chris Boswell field goals to finish off drives in this one.

Due to that, this game comes down to the Steelers' ability to force turnovers defensively and limit the amount of big plays for which Rivers and his weapons connect. While the defense has played well against Colin Kaepernick, Nick Foles and Flacco in the last three weeks, Rivers is playing much better than those three at this point in the season and has connected on some great throws early in the year.

Despite the firepower Rivers has at his disposal, it can all be undone by the banged-up offensive line in front of him, which should give the Steelers pass-rushers ample opportunities to add to their 14.0 team sacks on the season, which is fourth-best in the NFL behind Denver, Green Bay and St. Louis.

When it all comes down to it, though, Rivers can do more than Vick to lead his team to victory, which will play out Monday night on national television.