The Pittsburgh Steelers won the toss and elected to defer. The Los Angeles Chargers started the game on offense after a touchback.Keenan Allen got things rolling early with a 14-yard reception working out of the slot. The first run of the night went to Austin Ekeler who had nowhere to go. Going no huddle Dan Fouts Color Rush Jersey , Rivers hooked up with Allen for another 1st down on a short catch and run. Following that play, Whisenhunt elected to waste a carry on Travis Benjamin. Then they wasted another play on Benjamin, this one was a pass behind the line that he would have been better of dropping. Allen was short of the sticks on 3rd down by about the distance that Benjamin lost on the previous play. Almost inevitably, Michael Badgley missed a 52-yard field goal attempt on 4th down.James Conner was bottled up on his first carry of the game, but Antonio Brown moved the chains on the next play. Brown beat Casey Hayward on the following play for a huge gain setting up 1st & goal from the 1-yard line. Conner, of course, punched it in on 1st down.A short gain by Ekeler on 1st down was followed up with Rivers taking a big sack on 2nd down. On 3rd & 19, Rivers threw low and behind Allen and was lucky not to get picked off. Donnie Jones’ punt was fair caught on the Chargers’ side of the 50-yard line.Conner picked up about 4 on a screen to star the drive. Antonio Brown continued to be uncoverable converting another 1st down. Pittsburgh got cute with a fleaflicker, but the secondary was not fooled and Roethlisberger threw the ball out the back of the end zone. Michael Davis absolutely mugged Ryan Switzer in the end zone without ever turning around. Defensive pass interference gave the Steelers another 1st & goal from the 1. It took two tries, but Conner punched it in again.Allen and Mike Williams both caught passes for 1st downs. And then the referees missed a blatant false start by Sam Tevi and Travis Benjamin caught a 40-yard touchdown pass.The Steelers looked to be moving the ball again on their next drive picking up 1st downs through the air and on the ground. They were seemingly moving the ball at will. Then, Derwin James made a stop by the line of scrimmage. Then, he picked off a poor Roethlisberger pass over the middle.The offense was unable to do anything with the James interception, though, and they ended up punting the ball away. The defense held strong, though, forcing a three-and-out.The offense went three-and-out again, and then to top it off, Jones’ punt was blocked. The defense did a great job of holding the Steelers to a field goal attempt which Chris Boswell converted.Two Keenan Allen receptions moved the sticks, but they were not able to sustain a drive and ended up punting again.Aided in part by a terrible pass interference call, the Steelers marched 74 yards in 78 seconds to score another touchdown before half time.The Steelers’ first drive of the second half ended in a punt, but it also burned over 5 minutes of clock and that may have been as meaningful as points given their 16-point lead.Starting at their own 12, the Chargers engineered a 13-play touchdown drive that concluded with the most absurd touchdown you’re likely to see this year.From there, the Chargers made it a one-score game by converting a two-point conversion with a pretty back corner of the end zone catch by future Hall of Famer Antonio Gates.The Steelers gifted the Chargers a holding penalty on a screen pass to set up 2nd & long. Then, Joey Bosa finally got home to sack Roethlisberger. On 3rd & 29, the Steelers ran a give up play, then punted. Desmond King returned it 73 yards for a touchdown. The offense then came on to attempt a two-point conversion. This time, the throw went to Keenan Allen and it was another successful conversion.With momentum on their side, the Chargers defense returned to the field. A pair of great plays by King and Adrian Phillips forced another Steelers punt.On the Chargers’ next drive Lance Alworth Color Rush Jersey , it was the Justin Jackson show. Every time he touched the ball he was picking up big yardage whether it be a carry up the middle or a swing pass, he looked unstoppable. Finally, he scored from 18 yards out.The Chargers defense continued to rise to the occasion, finally stopping the Steelers inches short of a new set of downs on 3rd & 10 after Melvin Ingram just missed what would have been a game-sealing sack. Mike Tomlin burned a challenge, but the ruling stood. Then, it came down to a 4th & inches attempt by the Steelers, and Conner just made it across the line to gain to keep their drive alive. Pittsburgh continued to roll after that, helped by a personal foul by Jatavis Brown. Conner appeared to injure his leg on another decent-sized gain, and Jaylen Samuels had to take over for him. A play later, Casey Hayward had to leave with an injury. A player after that, Samuels scored a touchdown.The Chargers took back over on their own 25 after a touchback. They started the drive moving the chains at will. Allen and Ekeler both got in on the action early. Justin Jackson got back in the game and promptly rushed for 10 yards and a fresh set of downs. His next carry, his fifth, put him at 59 yards on the day. Ekeler made a mistake running out of bounds, but Allen bailed him out picking up a 1st down on the next snap. From there the Chargers forced the Steelers to burn their last timeouts and set up for a field goal attempt. They then ran the clock down to 3 seconds and called a timeout. Michael Badgley came on to attempt the game-winner.Having already missed one kick tonight, Badgley missed wide left. The Steelers had jumped offside, though, so he got a second chance from 5 yards closer.Now, having missed two, Badgley’s next attempt was blocked. The Steelers were clearly offside, yet again, however.Now, having missed three kicks, Badgley lined up to attempt a 29-yard field goal, and it was good. Sorry, Yogi. Maybe it is over before it’s over.Just look at most of the NFL division races.The NFC West will be over if Seattle loses at Carolina on Sunday. The AFC West looks done in favor of Kansas City.Both South divisions are runaways for the Saints in the NFC, the Texans — yes, the formerly 0-3 Texans — in the AFC.Pittsburgh appears to be more in a race for the top overall AFC seed than any challenge in the North. Chicago has a choke hold on the NFC North.And did anyone think New England would be challenged in the AFC East? Combine the three other rosters in that sector and the resulting team might not challenge Tom Brady and the Patriots.That leaves one division in serious doubt, and with some serious turmoil: the NFC East.You’ll never hear a coach or general manager or owner claim anything is in the bag until Kellen Winslow Color Rush Jersey , well, it’s in the bag, tied up and secured in a safe place. So don’t ask Sean Payton or Sean McVay or Matt Nagy about playoff byes and home-field advantages.“For us, there’s so many different things we can get better at,” McVay says, “and that’s the exciting thing about it is with football, there’s this never-ending goal of continuing to improve and focus on the little things. Whether that’s situational football, whether that’s taking care of it or taking it away defensively. So, there’s a lot of things within the framework of every single situation.“Then, it’s going to be about continuing to improve and playing team football. If we do that, then we think good things are going to happen, but it’s going to be a tough stretch. We’ve got some great games coming up. For us, when we get back, the No. 1 focus will be on the Detroit Lions and then we’ll go from there.”But it’s crystal clear what’s going on, even before we reach December.Barring major injuries — the kind of thing that is destroying the season for Philadelphia and Atlanta and Cincinnati — here’s what is going on:AFCThe most interesting race is for which teams will wind up with a week off in the postseason. Kansas City (9-2) has the inside position, followed by Pittsburgh (7-2-1), New England and Houston, both 7-3. Sure, the Chargers (7-3) could sneak through in the West, and the Colts or Titans in the South. Does anyone really believe that will happen?Home field is a huge edge for the Patriots, of course. They almost never lose at Foxborough in January.Oddly, the Chiefs rarely win in KC in the postseason. They have lost their last six and haven’t been victorious at Arrowhead in the playoffs since 1993, when Joe Montana was their quarterback.The Steelers aren’t particularly dominant at Heinz Field in the playoffs, either, but Houston is 3-1 at home in January.The Chargers have a nice cushion for a wild card and do have a Thursday nighter at KC remaining. No other team has a winning record in the conference.Pittsburgh has the least enviable remaining schedule, with home games with the Chargers and Patriots, and a visit to New Orleans. New England’s only other likely test is against up-and-down Minnesota at Gillette Stadium.Kansas City has that home game with the Chargers and a trip to Seattle as its most challenging contests, while Houston has no one remaining that has a winning record and has won seven in a row.Look for the Chiefs and Patriots to lock up byes Philip Rivers Color Rush Jersey , with the Chargers and — a wild stab — the Colts grabbing wild cards.NFCChicago’s victory on Thanksgiving Day with backup quarterback Chase Daniel said a lot about the Bears (8-3). They are as opportunistic as anyone, and their defense is the best of any contender. They do get the Rams (10-1) on Dec. 9, but at Soldier Field, and still have matchups with the Packers and Vikings — neither of whom is balanced enough to put together a closing streak.With that defense, Chicago usually should be capable of winning anywhere, except that’s not how NFL 2018 is built. Playing at the offensive machines from New Orleans (10-1) or Los Angeles would prove hugely difficult. The Saints own a victory over the Rams, which could be decisive in the race for top seed and, eventually, a spot in the Super Bowl. Still, New Orleans has trips to Dallas and Carolina, home games with the Steelers and Panthers, perhaps the most-testing schedule remaining.The Rams, meanwhile, face only one opponent currently with a winning mark (Chicago) the rest of the way. Dallas (6-5) unquestionably has the inside track in the East, especially owning wins over Washington (6-5), which has lost QB Alex Smith, and struggling Philadelphia (4-7). That might be the only division race in doubt come late December. Don’t count on it being undecided.Of prime interest, though, will be the chase for the wild card. Plenty of big matchups remain, beginning Sunday with Seattle at Carolina, which also has those two games left against New Orleans.Green Bay has an easier remaining schedule than Minnesota, and Seattle, like Carolina, has a tough road.Look for the Rams and Saints to earn byes, with Carolina getting a wild card in the NFC. The other? Ask us around Christmas.
