Steelers Scouting Report: Scouting the Los Angeles Chargers
This week, the Steelers have a very exciting Sunday Night Football matchup. They will be looking to get back on track following a very disappointing loss to the Denver Broncos. This week will be yet another challenging game as they will face a Los Angeles Chargers team that is one of the hottest teams in the AFC sitting at an 8-3 record. This one is due to be a shootout as we will see two of the top quarterbacks in the league squaring off in Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger. I fully expect this game to come down to the wire and be one of the best games we’ve seen this season. With that being said, let’s take a look at this week’s opponent.
Injury Report
The Chargers are one of very few teams that are lucky enough to just be dealing with a few injuries at this point in the season. However, the players that are injured are crucial to their success. The Chargers’ offense will take a huge hit for at least a couple weeks as starting running back Melvin Gordon is listed as doubtful with an MCL injury. Wide receiver Tyrell Williams is listed as questionable this week with a quadriceps injury. Luckily, he was able to have limited participation in Thursday’s practice.
On the defensive side of the ball, defensive tackle Brandon Mebane is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game due to personal reasons. He did not participate in practice on Thursday.
Austin Ekeler must step up in Gordon’s absence
As I just mentioned in the injury report, the Chargers will be missing a huge piece of their offense this week with the injury to Gordon. He has had an outstanding season so far as he ranks 6th in the NFL in rushing with 802 yards and nine touchdowns. Filling in these big shoes will be back up running back Austin Ekeler. Ekeler has emerged as a reliable second option spelling Gordon off the bench this season. He has rushed for 401 yards and a touchdown so far. Ekeler is also a reliable option in the passing game as he has accounted for 32 receptions for 354 yards and three touchdowns this season. It will be interesting to see how he performs with a much heavier workload than he is used to this week.
In the absence of Gordon, I expect the Chargers to try to air it out a lot more. They are led by All-Pro quarterback Philip Rivers who has thrown for 3,119 yards and 26 touchdowns this season. Those stats put him at 8th in the NFL in passing. His go-to target this season has been Keenan Allen who has accounted for 69 receptions for 848 yards and four touchdowns. Second-year wide receiver Mike Williams has also stepped up this season, proving that he was worth the first-round selection last year. Williams has hauled in 24 receptions for 419 yards and seven touchdowns this season.
The Chargers’ defense has been solid so far
The Los Angeles Chargers have been one of the hottest teams so far this season and a lot of the credit can go to their defense. They currently rank 9th in the league in total defense allowing 334.8 yards per game. They have also only given up 19.9 points per game this season. This defense is at their best against the pass, in which they rank 8th in the NFL. They have only allowed 227.3 yards per game through the air so far. All-Pro defensive back Casey Hayward Jr. and Michael Davis start at the cornerback slots. They are joined in the secondary by first-round pick Derwin James and Jahleel Addae at the safeties. James leads the team in tackles with 54 solo tackles, 78 with assists included while second-year cornerback Desmond King II leads the team with three interceptions.
Los Angeles has also been solid against the run so far this season. They rank 13th in the league in run defense allowing 107.5 yards per game on the ground. Their run defense is led by outside linebacker Jatavis Brown who is second on the team with 42 tackles, 60 with assists included. He is joined in the linebacker core by rookie Uchenna Nwosu at the other outside linebacker and Kyle Emmanuel at inside linebacker. The front four consists of two outstanding edge rushers in Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram III, along with Darius Philon and Brandon Mebane at the defensive tackles. If Mebane is out this week, Damion Square will fill in for him.
Final Thoughts
As I said earlier, this will be a very close game. This game will be back and forth for at least three and a half quarters. However, I think the absence of Gordon will be felt in a huge way in this one. I see the Steelers marching down the field and scoring on their final drive to seal a one-score victory. With that being said, this game could go either way and could very well come down to whoever has the ball last. I’m looking forward to a very exciting game in what could be a preview of a future playoff matchup.
