The Bolts are looking to stay perfect in Week 3 against the Steelers.

Kickoff from Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh is slated for 10 a.m. (PT).

The Chargers are 3-point underdogs and the over/under for Sunday is 34.5 points.

Here are five final thoughts ahead of Week 3:

1. Put your hard hat on

Buckle your chinstrap extra tight and bring your hard hat for this one.

When the Chargers and Steelers meet Sunday in Pittsburgh, it appears likely that a slugfest could be in the cards.

Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh wants his team to be the toughest in the league. Longtime Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin feels the same.

"It's going to be a lunch pail game," tight end Hayden Hurst said. "They want to be physical, that's their brand of football, it's been their style for years.

"I think we all know what Harbs is all about," Hurst added. "It's going to be a fun Sunday."

Gus Edwards added: "We know what type of game it's going to be."

Since arriving in January, Harbaugh has talked about instilling the mindset of running the ball, dominating the trenches on both sides and pummeling opposing quarterbacks.

The Chargers have done just that through two games as they notched double-digit wins on the way to a 2-0 start.

Pittsburgh has followed the same formula with their own 2-0 start by relying on a punishing defense and physical offense.

The Bolts defense has only allowed a league-best 13 points in two games. You can probably guess who is second ... the Steelers at 16 total points allowed.

In other words, the odds of this one being a shootout are unlikely. Heck, the first team to 17 points might claim the win Sunday in the Steelers home opener.

"We're definitely going to have to bring out hard hats and get ready to roll," center Bradley Bozeman said. "It's going to be one of those games you have to grind it out."

Hurst added: "Got to be on top of our [stuff] this week and bring the fight to those guys."

Harbaugh summed it up perfectly this week when he said the Bolts are "going to find out what we're made of" on Sunday in Pittsburgh.

A win would mean the Chargers first 3-0 start since 2002.

"It will be a great test for our team and our organization," Derwin James, Jr. said. "We know what type of team they have, they're undefeated just like us. Only one team can leave that field undefeated, so we'll see Sunday."

2. A look at the backup QBs

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is questionable for Sunday.

Herbert said Friday that he is dealing with a high ankle sprain and that he's doing everything possible to play in Week 3.

If Herbert cannot play, either Easton Stick or Taylor Heinicke would be in line to start. Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh on Friday declined to speculate on who that could be.

"Until I really know exactly what Justin's status is, I'm not really going to reveal what the contingencies are," Harbaugh said.

Harbaugh added that he has "a lot of faith" in both players.

Harbaugh said in August that he planned to coach Stick and Heinicke different than Herbert given No. 10's all-world abilities.

Harbaugh said Friday that process has gone "very well" in recent weeks.

"I think both had a really great week of practice," Harbaugh said of Stick and Heinicke.

Harbaugh later added: "Just the way they're operating and playing the position. They both really had an excellent week."

Stick made four starts for the Chargers at the end of the 2023 season when Herbert was on Injured Reserve.

Heinicke was acquired in an August 28 trade with Atlanta for a conditional sixth-round pick.

"I think one of the great things we've done is, those guys prepare like that every week," Herbert said. "They prepare like they're going in and ready at any moment.

"I know Stick and Taylor have done such a great job preparing and understanding the offense that if something were to happen, they're both able to go in there and not skip a beat," Herbert added. "To have two guys like that, especially with the coaching staff that we do, I know that they're very prepared."

Harbaugh added: "They both are playing at a high level."

Both Herbert and Harbaugh praised Heinicke when asked how quickly the veteran quarterback has been able to pick up the Chargers offense.

"I think it's just how special of a player he is," Herbert said. "He's such a great quarterback, he's had a lot of success in this league and being able to pick up an offense like that, he's seen a lot of football.

"It's a true compliment to him to be able to pick it up like that," Herbert added. "I know the guys would rally behind him, they believe in him and they believe in Stick as well. Whoever it is out there, they're going to ball."

Harbaugh added: "I've mentioned it before, I haven't seen anybody get this up to speed as Taylor has. It's been quite outstanding."

Heinicke has made 29 career starts with three different teams. He has thrown for 6,635 yards with 39 touchdowns in his career.

3. Strength vs. strength

When the Chargers 2024 schedule came out in mid-May, many circled this game on the calendar.

Four months later, the matchup between the Bolts run game and the Steelers run defense is still dripping with anticipation.

Entering Week 3, the Chargers ranked second in the NFL at 197.5 rushing yards per game. Pittsburgh's defense, meanwhile, ranks fourth by allowing just 76.5 yards per game.

On a more advanced level, the Steelers defense ranks second in rushing EPA per play allowed (-0.282) if you remove garbage time runs. By the same metric, which would eliminate Herbert kneel downs, the Bolts offense ranks eighth in EPA per play (0.086).

So yeah, we're talking strength against strength here.

"Certainly. I think that's our M.O. We want to be able to run the football and impose our will on teams," Hurst said. "That's what we want to do, we want to do it to every team that we play. Go out there, run the ball early, establish the run game."

Chargers Offensive Coordinator Roman quipped that Pittsburgh has been running the same defense for decades.

"Essentially, it's the same base system they put it in 1991," Roman said. "But it's evolved some, for sure. They do it really well, they know it really well. It's a great example of a generational defense."

Roman later added: "Definitely try to play with an edge. You have to. It's so competitive and so tough. The more people you can get involved in that mindset, the better."

One player to keep an eye on Sunday? Edwards, who has plenty of experience playing in Pittsburgh from his time with the Ravens.

While Edwards' stats may seem pedestrian through two games — he has 85 yards on 22 carries — Roman said physical games like Sunday are where Edwards can shine.

"He is a sledgehammer hitting the defense," Roman said. "You can't measure that on a sheet of paper or a computer screen."

Roman also has experience in the Steel City as his Ravens teams rushed for an average of 147.3 yards in four road games from 2019 to 2022. Baltimore hit at least 100 rushing yards in each game and ran for a whopping 215 yards in 2022.

"Greg Roman's gone against the Steelers ... Steelers have gone against Greg Roman," Harbaugh said. "There's experience on both sides."

"At the top of the league statistically in just about every category," Roman said. "You look at the numbers and that's one thing but turn on the field and you understand why. They have good players, great players at every level of their defense."

4. Preparing for Fields

The Chargers defense enters Week 3 on a red-hot start as the unit ranks first across the league in multiple statistical categories.

But the Bolts know Steelers quarterback Justin Fields will offer a test they haven't seen yet because of his mobility and elusiveness.

"It's a huge challenge," Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter said. "You always talk about in the NFL, a lot of the quarterbacks it's like the first play and then the next play, the second part of the play.

"Yeah, they'll call some designed runs and things like that, he brings an element to their run game in that regard," Minter continued. "But then when he drops back to pass, if he does take off, he's like a legitimate tailback, running the football. Size, physicality, speed, not afraid to try to run through tackles.

"Really, really talented player, there's a reason picked where he was and he's had the success that he's had," Minter added about Fields, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Fields currently ranks second on the Steelers with 84 rushing yards but has taken over games with his legs in previous seasons.

He rushed for 1,143 yards in 2022, the second-highest total for a quarterback in NFL history, while also scoring eight times.

Fields has 14 career rushing touchdowns, three of which have come from at least 50 yards away.

Players at every level of the Chargers defense know the key against Fields is to keep him inside the pocket as much as possible.

"Extending plays," James said of Fields' biggest strength. "He does a great job when you got them covered up, just extending those plays on the third downs.

"Being able to keep him in the pocket and make sure we plaster and cover down the field," James added.

Khalil Mack said: "His mobility and understanding he has a cannon of an arm. He can get a big play down the field at any moment. It's going to be up to us to get pressure on him and make sure he's contained in the pocket."

5. Another test for the tackles

Another week, another doozy of a matchup for Chargers rookie right tackle Joe Alt.

After facing veterans Maxx Crosby and Jadeveon Clowney in his first two NFL starts, Alt now gets the pleasure of lining up against Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt.

"Hey, Merry Christmas," Roman said with a chuckle.

Alt said this week that he's continued to find his groove in the infancy of his NFL career.

"Obviously the comfort level grows within each and every game, but just continuing to try to go back and just improve every week, every practice, try to get a little better every week," Alt said. "That's kind of my goal and mindset since we've started."

Alt was the NFL's highest-graded tackle in Week 2 with a Pro Football Focus grade of 87.2. Through two games, he has an overall grade of 78.5.

Watt is present an extreme test as the six-time Pro Bowler and four-time All Pro sits on the verge of 100.0 career sacks at 98.5.

Everyone in the Chargers organization has massive respect for Watt, the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

"He's a relentless player, that's the word that jumps out the most," Harbaugh said. "Extremely talented."

Harbaugh later added: "As an edge player, T.J. Watt is as good as they come."

Alt said Sunday will simply be another day at the office going against some of the league's top competition.

"You've got to adapt," Alt said. "It's a blessing to be in the NFL and you're going against the best each and every week.

"For me, I just have to take it whoever I'm playing that week and try to get as much film study as I can," Alt added. "Just learn them and see what they do."

Roman spent the 2006 and 2007 seasons in Baltimore as the Ravens assistant offensive line coach. Those happened to be the final two seasons for Hall of Fame tackle Jonathan Ogden, a player Roman compared Alt to this week.

"The potential is limitless," Roman said of Alt. "I was with Jonathan Odgen many years ago and [Alt] has a chance to touch that stratosphere.

"That's a lot of work, time and knowledge away," Roman added. "Right now he's battling every day to get everything down."