From the Press Room: Steelers vs. Chargers

Win the fight: Before Sunday’s game against the Chargers, coach Mike Tomlin told his team it would be a battle between two undefeated teams going head-to-head.

He was right, but it was the Steelers who delivered the final blow in a 20-10 victory at Acrisure Stadium, improving their record to 3-0 on the young season.

“We talked about it all week,” Tomlin said. “We knew we were going to fight. Styles make fights. They’re together like we are. We knew it was going to be a great game. They play great defense. We play great defense. We had to challenge our defense to outplay theirs. I think they did.”

“We had a commitment to the ground game. Obviously, they came in with the best rusher in the league and the No. 1 offense and our offense had to outrun theirs, and we did, and that’s why the game went the way it went.

“I’m just grateful for the effort the guys put in. It was a fight, though, man. These guys are obviously well-coached and a talented group. It didn’t happen overnight. We had to stay in the game. But that’s life and certainly life in the NFL.”

Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins entered the game as the NFL’s leading rusher with 266 yards in two games. The defense shut down Dobbins, limiting him to 44 yards on 15 carries, while the ground game totaled just 61 yards.

“We better react that way,” Tomlin said. “There’s a certain nakedness to this case at that level. There’s nowhere to hide.”

“When you have a challenge like that in your room, you better fight. With the No. 1 rusher and the rushing corps coming into our building, let’s be very clear, they have to fight. They have no choice.”

On the other side, Najee Harris carried the ball 18 times for 70 yards, while the Steelers rushed for 114 yards.

“I just liked our overall attitude throughout the game,” Tomlin said. “It wasn’t fluid at all. But I didn’t sense any blinking or running away from anyone. I just felt like guys were leaning into the challenge.”
“Obviously we’re going to have to replicate that as we go forward.

“It’s good to be 3-0 as we sit here.”

Much of the Steelers’ running game came late in the game, nothing that surprised Tomlin.

“Like I said, styles make fights, and that’s the way these two teams and defenses are built,” Tomlin said. “We didn’t expect it to be easy to beat at any point, but we wanted to keep pounding the rock and hopefully break through, and we felt like we did that in the latter parts of the game.”

While there were some bright spots in the game, the Steelers suffered some injuries during the game, including the loss of first-round pick Troy Fautanu the day before the game when he was placed on injured reserve.

“Sure, we had some injuries before and during the game, but that’s life,” Tomlin said. “We spend less time worrying about the unfortunate guys who got hurt and like to spend our time focusing on the guys who have the opportunity to step up and contribute.”

“It’s a shame about Alex Highsmith, I’m happy for (Nick) Herbig, for example. And none of us are surprised by the quality of the work he’s done for us and many others.

“Cory Trice had a hamstring injury, Alex Highsmith had a groin injury, Jaylen Warren couldn’t finish late in the second half. I took him out of the game. He didn’t seem to be running properly. We’ll evaluate him.”

“Van Jefferson was able to return in the final minutes of the game. He was hit in the eye. His vision cleared up and he started participating again.

“We had some other bumps and bruises from the game. We’ll analyse that and I’ll give you a full report on Tuesday, but as I sit here today I’m grateful for the effort of the guys. I’m grateful to be 3-0.

“It’s good to come into a good competition like this, man, five-star matchups between good players, if you will, and come out on top. There’s growth in that, and we better learn from it and keep growing because we’ve got challenges ahead of us.”