3rd time’s the charm on game-winning kick
PITTSBURGH — Philip Rivers watched Ben Roethlisberger do what the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback so often does — lead a game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter — and decided it was time for the Los Angeles Chargers to do something they so rarely do: win a big game on the road against a team with Super Bowl aspirations of its own.
So the longtime Chargers quarterback gathered his teammates around him and delivered a very blunt message.
“It was, ‘Let’s go win it,’ ” Rivers said. “‘Let’s make this the last drive and win it.’ ”
Done and done. Rivers drove the Chargers 64 yards in 11 plays to set up Michael Badgley’s 29yard field goal on the final snap as Los Angeles rallied for a 33-30 victory Sunday night.
Badgley’s initial 39yard attempt sailed wide right, but the Steelers were called for offsides. Badgley’s ensuing 34yard attempt was blocked, but Pittsburgh’s celebration was cut short when the Steelers were again flagged for crossing the line of scrimmage early. The Steelers jumped a third time on Badgley’s 29-yarder, but the Chargers gleefully declined the penalty as they spilled onto the field.
“There was no worry or doubt,” Badgley said. “It’s just one of those things where you stay tough. It’s a situation you never really plan out there where you get three in a row like that. You just have to go do what you know how to do.”
Down 23-7 at the half, the Chargers (9-3) became the first visiting team to win in Pittsburgh after trailing by 16. The Steelers (7-4-1) had been 174-0-1 when up by that much at home. Now Pittsburgh heads into the final quarter of the season having its once comfortable lead in the AFC North trimmed to a halfgame over surging Baltimore (7-5).
“Don’t need to panic,” Roethlisberger said. “Don’t need to worry.”
It might be time to at least start fretting. The Steelers have dropped two straight for the first time this season and had no answer for the Chargers in the second half.
Rivers completed 26 of 36 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns. Former Cal wideout Keenan Allen caught 14 passes for 148 yards and a score and Justin Jackson ran for 63 yards and a touchdown in place of injured starter Melvin Gordon for the Chargers. Desmond King added a 73-yard punt return for a score as Los Angeles bolstered its postseason chances by winning in Pittsburgh for just the fourth time in 19 tries.
“These guys, they believe,” Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said. “When you believe in something strongly, you can will it to happen.”
Roethlisberger threw for 281 yards with two scores and an interception. Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown caught 10 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown and James Conner added 60 yards rushing and two touchdowns before leaving in the fourth quarter with a leg injury.