Position in tight AFC race at stake for both teams

PITTSBURGH — Philip Rivers didn’t exactly spend a lot of time poring over the most accurate performance by a quarterback in NFL history.

The longtime Chargers quarterback understands there’s no time.

Not with the Chargers (8-3) scrambling to stay ahead in the middle of a tight AFC playoff race and a trip to AFC North-leading Pittsburgh (7-3-1) looming, one that could erase all doubts about whether Los Angeles is for real.

“We’ve got a heck of a December ahead of us,” Rivers said.

So Rivers gave his 28 for 29 day in an almost comically easy 45-10 win over Arizona last Sunday a cursory look, lingering over his one mistake — a second-quarter fumble on a play he audibled to — far longer than any of his three touchdown passes or his recordtying 25 straight completions.

The 15-year veteran is well aware miscues of any variety need to be avoided when Ben Roethlisberger is on the other sideline just waiting to pounce in a place that’s not exactly hospitable to teams in visiting white jerseys, particularly as the calendar hits December.

The Steelers are an NFL-best 18-3 in December since 2013 and 8-0 in December prime-time games at Heinz Field since it opened in 2001.

“It’s one of those old-school NFL atmospheres,” Rivers said. “Throw in fact it’s in December they are right there in the hunt in the AFC and you expect a heck of a game.”

One the Steelers need just as badly as the Chargers. Pittsburgh had its six-game winning streak end last week in Denver, a 24-17 setback littered with the kind of sloppy mistakes the Steelers largely avoided while righting their season following a 1-2-1 start. Pittsburgh turned it over four times, three times in the red zone, the last one a Roethlisberger pick at the goal line on a pass intended for Antonio Brown.

The loss cost the Steelers the inside track at the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and set up the possibility that Los Angeles’ visit to Heinz Field could be the first of two such meetings.

Not that Pittsburgh is getting caught up in “what ifs,” not with a December schedule that includes games against the Chargers, New England and New Orleans.

“We’ve done it from all the different seeds,” Roethlisberger said. “So just getting in is the most important.”

Roethlisberger and Rivers are seventh and eighth on the alltime list for career yards passing, throwing for a combined 108,196 yards — or 61.5 miles — since they came into the league in 2004. The two understand they are inextricably linked, though there’s one thing — two actually — that Roethlisberger has that Rivers does not: a Super Bowl ring.

A victory today wouldn’t guarantee a shot at one, but it would stamp the Chargers as a team built to compete in January and perhaps beyond. Rivers isn’t consumed by the big picture, however. Focusing on the small one is tough enough.

Keep an eye on

The Chargers receivers, who will need to pick up the slack with running Melvin Gordon’s injury. Gordon is week to week with a sprained MCL in his right knee.

Mike Williams had two touchdown catches last week while Keenan Allan has a TD in three straight games. Williams was a deep threat early in the season, but showed off his athleticism in last week’s win over Arizona with two catches near the boundary line at the back of the end zone.

Options aplenty

The emergence of JuJu SmithSchuster has taken some of the pressure off Steelers star wide receiver Antonio Brown. SmithSchuster is taking advantage of defenses who focus extensively on Brown, one of the reasons the 22-year-old ranks sixth in the league in receptions (77) and yards receiving (1,055). Still, Roethlisberger is quick to shoot down the notion Pittsburgh now has two No. 1 receivers. If anything, the number is far greater than that.

“I’d put James Conner in there,” Roethlisberger said. “Vance McDonald, Ryan Switzer, Ju, AB. So, I’d put a lot of them as number ones.”

Bosa’s really back

Los Angeles defensive end Joey Bosa missed the first nine games because of a bone bruise to his left foot, but made his presence felt in his second game back last week with two sacks. Roethlisberger has always been a difficult quarterback to take down, but Bosa’s speed could give him an advantage.