The Los Angeles Chargers lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers by just a touchdown, 24-17, on Sunday night at home, despite scoring the final 17 points of the game.
On the first play of the game, Philip Rivers found Hunter Henry for a 19-yard reception, the tight end's first catch since injuring his knee in a Week 1 victory over the Colts. Henry caught eight passes on nine targets for 100 yards receiving and two touchdowns on the night.
The pass also marked Rivers' 4,652nd completion, moving the veteran past injured Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for sole possession of seventh place in all-time completions. The drive ended in a punt, however.
Then, the Chargers forced a three-and-out on the Steelers' opening drive, highlighted by a tackle for a loss by Denzel Perryman.
On the ensuing Bolts drive, Rivers fumbled on an attempted backward pass that Steelers linebacker Devin Bush recovered and ran nine yards for a touchdown. After an extra point, the Steelers led 7-0 with 11:01 remaining in the first quarter.
The next Chargers possession was interrupted by a Bush interception on a deflected pass. Seven plays and 40 yards later, the Steelers scored a touchdown on a 12-yard run by running back James Conner. The extra point increased Pittsburgh's advantage to 14-0 with 4:29 to play in the first.
The Steelers put together a 14-play, 86-yard drive on their next drive, which culminated in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Devlin Hodges to James Conner. Chris Boswell's extra point extended the Pittsburgh lead to 21-0 with 6:34 left in the first half.
The Bolts responded with a long drive of their own that featured two consecutive receptions by Mike Williams that went for first downs.
Despite advancing 61 yards on 12 plays, the possession ended without points as kicker Chase McLaughlin hit the left upright on a 43-yard field goal attempt.
On the first drive of the second half, the Steelers had first and goal on the Chargers' 2-yard line, but L.A. made a strong goal-line stand, limiting Pittsburgh to a 20-yard Boswell field goal. The possession took 6:48 off the clock and brought the score to 24-0 with 8:12 remaining in the third quarter.
Los Angeles got on the board with a 38-yard field goal by McLaughlin with 14:04 to play in the game. The kick concluded an 11-play, 71-yard drive.
On the next possession, Rayshawn Jenkins picked off Hodges for the Miami product's second interception of the season. After intercepting the pass, Jenkins ran the ball eight yards to the Chargers' 30-yard line.
Rivers then engineered an efficient 10-play, 70-yard drive that took just 3:23 and resulted in a 5-yard Hunter Henry touchdown reception.
The drive included a highlight juke by Williams after catching a Rivers pass.
After the McLaughlin extra point, the Steelers' lead shrunk to 24-10 with 7:13 left to play.
A Pittsburgh three-and-out gave the Bolts the ball back trailing by two scores and 3:53 remaining in the game.
The Chargers marched down and compiled another efficient scoring drive, advancing 79 yards on eight plays in 2:24. The culminating play was a 10-yard pass from Rivers to Henry for the tight end's second touchdown of the game with 1:29 left to play.
The Bolts then got their second consecutive defensive three-and-out, starting their drive with 1:03 to play at their own 1-yard line. On the second play of the drive, Rivers was intercepted by Steelers cornerback Cam Sutton, ending the Chargers' comeback bid.
In the loss, Rivers completed 26 of 44 passes for 320 yards, with two touchdowns, two interceptions and a lost fumble. In his first NFL start, Hodges completed 15 of 20 passes for 132 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Conner finished with 119 total yards and two touchdowns for the Steelers.
The Chargers fell to 2-4 and will face the 2-4 Tennessee Titans next Sunday in Nashville. Kickoff is at 1:05 p.m. PT from Nissan Stadium.
