Steelers vs. Chargers: Grades, Notes and Quotes for Pittsburgh

"It's not how you start, it's how you finish."

Mike Vick couldn't have been more spot on following the Pittsburgh Steelers last-second 24-20 win over the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football.

Vick, who played very poorly for roughly three quarters, saved his best for last, orchestrating two late touchdown drives—one coming on a 72-yard bomb to Markus Wheaton—to lead the Steelers over the banged-up Chargers in a gutsy win.

In the win, Vick finished 13-of-26 for 203 yards with one touchdown and one meaningless interception at the end of the first half.

However, the 15-year veteran didn't come through for the Steelers until the fourth quarter when they needed him the most, starting with a deep throw to a wide-open Wheaton on a double move that saw Vick roll left and fire a deep pass while taking a shot from San Diego's Jeremiah Attaochu.

Later in the fourth quarter, following a Chargers field goal, Vick marched the Steelers 80 yards in 12 plays, including Le'Veon Bell's one-yard plunge out of the Wildcat formation to cap off the Steelers dramatic win on the West Coast.

The game-winning drive featured completions of nine and 15 yards to Darrius Heyward-Bey, a 24-yard scramble from Vick and a 16-yard strike to Heath Miller in traffic to give Pittsburgh the ball at the Chargers' 1-yard line.

From there, Bell did the rest.

But this win wouldn't be possible without yet another impressive showing from the Steelers defense.

Despite allowing Philip Rivers to carve up the secondary for 365 yards on 35-of-48 throwing with two touchdowns and one interception—a pick-six by Antwon Blake—the Steelers defense came up with stops time and time again when they needed to most, especially late in the fourth quarter.

With San Diego driving for what looked like another touchdown in the fourth, the Steelers defense held strong in the red zone, forcing the Chargers to kick a field goal to give them a 20-17 lead with 2:56 remaining in the game.

That's when Vick began his final drive.

With the win, the Steelers improve to 3-2 on the season (1-1 with Vick as a starter.)

Pittsburgh received key contributions from second-tier players all night, namely Blake, Wheaton and Jarvis Jones, in a true team win.

Positon Grades for Steelers

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Position	Grade
QB	B+
RB	A
WR	B
TE	B
OL	B+
DL	A
LB	B+
DB	C
Special Teams	D+
Coaching	B-

Mike Vick deserves an A+ based on his play in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, his fourth quarter doesn't completely make up for the first three quarters of play, which were tough to watch.

For the first three quarters, Vick was woefully inaccurate, hesitant to cut one loose and seemed generally lost in the offense despite being with the Steelers for seven weeks.

However, once the fourth quarter started, vintage Vick arrived.

With seven minutes and 42 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Steelers on the edge of defeat at 17-10, Vick found a wide-open Markus Wheaton at the end of a ridiculous double move on Brandon Flowers for a 72-yard touchdown to pull the Steelers even with the Chargers.

Then, on the final drive, Vick continued to snap out of his funk, twice finding Darrius Heyward-Bey for good chunks of yardage before scampering 24 yards for a huge first down. Two plays later, Vick found Heath Miller for 16 yards and ended up on the San Diego 1-yard line.

Vick showed poise, confidence and—most important of all—accuracy on the final drive. Hats off to him for his performance late to quiet the critics (including myself).

Le'Veon Bell was terrific once again, rushing for 111 yards and the game-winning touchdown against a Chargers defense that allowed the fourth-most rushing yards in the league coming into tonight's game.

Showcasing his trademark patience and vision in the box, Bell was tough to bring down all night behind Pittsburgh's offensive line. Without Bell's success on the ground, it's quite possible Pittsburgh would have lost this game.

As for the receivers, Antonio Brown was held to just three catches for 45 yards on six targets, but being shadowed by Jason Verrett for much of the game created room for Heyward-Bey, Wheaton and Heath Miller to operate.

Although Wheaton had the one big catch, he was open quite often all night. Vick just struggled to hit him for much of the game.

The receivers earned their "B" grade in the fourth quarter with the big touchdown from Wheaton and the two big catches on the game-winning drive by Heyward-Bey, who is quickly becoming Vick's security blanket.

At tight end, Miller was a huge proponent to the Steelers success on the ground, as well as through the air. The veteran hauled in all three targets he saw for 46 yards—including the huge 16-yard catch on the final drive before taking a big shot from Jahleel Addae at the goal line.

Up front on offense, the Steelers offensive line generally did a nice job of protecting Vick while also opening up good running lanes for Bell to plow through. On the night, Pittsburgh averaged 5.7 yards per carry.

Vick was sacked just three times, which is an improvement from last week.

Defensively, the front seven continues to stand out as a bright spot on an improving defense. Led by Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt, the Steelers held San Diego to 2.7 yards per carry on just 19 carries, making the Chargers relatively one-dimensional and allowing Steelers pass-rushers to pin their ears back and get after Philip Rivers.

And did they ever.

While Rivers was sacked just two times on the night, the pressure from the front seven was effective against a banged-up Chargers offensive line down to second- and third-stringers on the left side of the line.

Jarvis Jones picked up his first sack of the season while Bud Dupree recorded his third.

The pressure from the front seven resulted in Antwon Blake's 70-yard pick-six of Rivers that put the Steelers back in the game just as the Chargers were driving for a touchdown to pull away.

Blake was very nonchalant on the return and could have easily been stripped of the ball a la Leon Lett in Super Bowl XXVII, but the diminutive corner was able to find paydirt.

As a unit, the secondary was picked apart for much of the night by Rivers and Antonio Gates (nine catches, 92 yards, two TDs), but they were able to tighten up at the right times to shut down drives and hold the Chargers to field goals.

If the Steelers can continue to produce like this on defense once Ben Roethlisberger returns from injury, look out.

On special teams, it appears that the Steelers kicking woes are over. Chris Boswell nailed a 47-yard field goal that would have been good from 60 and didn't miss an extra point, solidifying the Steelers belief in him after cutting Josh Scobee last week.

However, the continuous penalties on kick and punt returns were a major thorn in the Steelers' side all night.

That has to be cleaned up this week by special teams coach Danny Smith.

A First for Blake

Associated Press

Antwon Blake's 70-yard pick-six of Philip Rivers was the first pick-six of his career, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

While Blake continues to struggle as a cover corner and tackler, he seems to have a knack for big plays in crucial situations, which is likely why he's continuously running out there as a starting corner over Brandon Boykin.

Blake's interception was largely due to pressure applied by the front seven, resulting in a late throw over the middle from Rivers, but that's what has made the Steelers' 3-4 defense so successful over the years.

It all starts up front with pressure, allowing the secondary to make plays on the football. That's what happened Monday. This time, Blake was the beneficiary.

According to Dom Rinelli, the Steelers' public relations and media manager, Blake's pick-six was the franchise's longest since Brett Keisel's 79-yard pick-six against Tampa Bay in 2010.

Vick to Wheaton a Milestone

Associated Press

Mike Vick's 72-yard touchdown strike to Markus Wheaton marked the fifth time in Vick's career that he's thrown a touchdown of 72-plus yards, three of which went to DeSean Jackson while he was in Philadelphia.

While the throw from Vick was nearly perfect (I'm nitpicking here, it was slightly underthrown but Wheaton was wide open), the double move on Brandon Flowers was incredible from Wheaton.

The drive before the touchdown, Wheaton ran a stop route that Flowers jumped all over. Seeing that, the Steelers dialed up the same route for Wheaton, but added a double move on the top of the route, which saw Wheaton leave Flowers in the dust.

After the game, Vick gave all the credit on the play to Ben Roethlisberger, saying that the injured QB drew up the play on the sidelines. Incredible.

Steelers Pass Rush Overwhelming

Charles LeClaire/USA Today Sports

With two sacks on Philip Rivers on Monday, the Steelers now have 16 sacks on the year, which puts them on pace for a ridiculous 51 on the season.

So much for the pass rush being invisible the last few years, eh?

Led by Cameron Heyward, the Steelers pass rush put constant pressure on Rivers, forcing him to check down over the middle in hopes of his running backs and slot receivers picking up good chunks of yardage.

Heyward was nearly unblockable. He continues to produce like a top-10 defensive lineman week after week.

While Heyward had great push up the middle all night, Jarvis Jones and Bud Dupree came up with the team's two sacks in impressive fashion.

Dupree showed off his explosiveness and athleticism off the edge while getting to Rivers, and Jones showcased his speed and power on his sack. Both were very encouraging.

If the Steelers can continue to get heat from everyone in the front seven, that should create more opportunities for turnovers in the secondary.

Vick "Tired of Second-Guessing Myself"

Associated Press

Following the thrilling comeback win over the Chargers, Mike Vick spoke with the NFL Network's Alex Flanagan.

Flanagan asked Vick how he bounced back from a rough start. Vick, who was calm, cool and collected after the victory, said that he was "tired of second-guessing" himself and just let loose.

Steelers fans sure are glad that he did.

You know about the 72-yard strike to Markus Wheaton and the three impressive completions to two different receivers on the final drive, but the ability of Vick to shake off a rough start and bounce back to make some big throws and a big run late shows the true poise of the veteran quarterback.

Midway through the third quarter, loads of Steelers fans were calling for Landry Jones to relieve Vick.

I think the fans are the ones second-guessing themselves right now.

The win was also Vick's third MNF win with three separate teams (the Falcons, Eagles and Steelers).

Tomlin Relies on Bell

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One yard to go with the game on the line? That's an easy call for Mike Tomlin.

Ring the Bell.

"

"I'm hoping that I have time... But we have to run the ball. We have Le'Veon Bell. We're on the road, we have to play to win." - Mike Tomlin

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 13, 2015"

Sure, the play design might not have been the best running the ball out of the Wildcat on the goal line, but Le'Veon Bell will find a way to get the ball into the end zone more often than not in that situation.

Luckily for the Steelers, he did.

Gutsy play call. Gutsy effort. Gutsy win.