Nobody saw this coming. The Chargers, who had not beaten a team with more than 4 wins going into today, completely outplayed a Pittsburgh Steelers squad that is fighting for an AFC Wild Card spot. Not only were the Steelers outplayed, but Mike Tomlin was out-coached by soon-to-be-fired Norv Turner. This was the first time in history that the Chargers had beaten the Steelers in Pittsburgh during the regular season, and the first time overall since the 1994 AFC Championship game. Final score: Chargers 34, Steelers 24.
The big story heading into the game was the return of Ben Rapelis...er...Roethlisberger, and while Big Ben had a good day (partially because the Chargers played soft coverage once a solid lead was built), he didn't have it easy by any means. John Pagano's defense did an excellent job of flushing Roethlisberger out of the pocket and locking down his receivers, leading to two crucial turnovers by the Steelers quarterback that resulted in Charger touchdowns. Bront Bird had a nice day filling in at linebacker, racking up 6 tackles, 1 tipped pass, and an interception. Eric Weddle also had another solid day with 5 tackles, 2 tipped passes, and a huge conversion on a fake punt that kept a San Diego drive alive in the 3rd quarter. As bad of a season as this has been, the Chargers defense has shown flashes of brilliance under John Pagano, even with injury problems of their own. If anyone deserves to survive the upcoming coaching changes in San Diego, it's Pagano.
The one man we know who will not survive the upcoming offseason is Norv Turner, but that didn't keep Norv from pulling out all the stops. You have to give credit where credit is due, and Norv called a hell of a game against the best defense in the league. He made some gutsy calls, most notably the fake punt and the decision to run the ball with Ronnie Brown on a 3rd-and-13 that lead to a Chargers first down and ultimately a Malcom Floyd touchdown. Danario Alexander had another monster day with 7 catches for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns and appears to be the replacement for Vincent Jackson that the Chargers desperately needed. Recently re-signed WR Michael Spurlock was lights-out in the slot, finishing the game with 7 receptions for 64 yards...which is exactly half as many receptions as Robert Meachem has had all season. The offensive line played some its most inspiring football of the season and did an adequate job of protecting Rivers in the passing game. It was your typical "too little-too late" type of game from Norv Turner's team, and this time, it won't be enough to save his job. It is comforting to know that the Chargers still have the ability to win games against quality opponents, but that does not negate the fact that a change needs to be made. Consider this game a nice parting gift from the Chargers to Norv.
For the first time in weeks, it was actually fun to watch the Chargers. If Spanos does the right thing and replaces Norv and A.J. Smith with better options, this team might not be as far away from regaining respectability as was once thought. But....will Spanos do the "right thing"...or will he let a stunning victory in Pittsburgh blind him from multiple seasons of failure during the Smith-Turner era?
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