Chargers Beat Steelers, 41-37, in Thrilling Sunday Night Victory

Nov 21, 2021 at 08:37 PM

The Los Angeles Chargers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 41-37, in Week 11 of the 2021 season.

First Quarter

The Chargers won the toss and deferred giving the Steelers the ball to start off Week 11. On Pittsburgh's first drive, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed two different passes on third down to keep their opening drive alive. The Chargers were able to stall the Steelers' drive on the Bolts' 18-yard line after Roethlisberger's pass was incomplete on third down. Steelers kicker Chris Boswell hit a 36-yard field goal that put the Steelers up 3-0 with 8:29 left in the first quarter.

On the Chargers' first drive of the game, Justin Herbert connected with Mike Williams for a 22-yard gain on 3rd-and-14. Facing another third down, this time on the Steelers' 21-yard line, Herbert and Williams connected again for the first down on a 17-yard gain. A few plays later, the Chargers handed the ball of to Austin Ekeler on first down and Ekeler scored on a six-yard rushing touchdown. Dustin Hopkins made the PAT and put the Bolts up 7-3 with 2:09 left in the first quarter.

The Steelers ended the first quarter with a first down completion that brought them to their 48-yard line.

Second Quarter

A few plays into the second quarter, Roethlisberger fired a pass deep down field and connected with Chase Claypool for a 37-yard gain that put the Steelers on the Chargers five-yard line. The Bolts defense held strong and stopped the Steelers on fourth down, getting the ball back on their own two-yard line.

The Chargers marched down to the Steelers' 24 with the help of three big plays from Herbert: two 18-yard scrambles followed by an 18-yard completion to Allen. Two plays later, Herbert found Ekeler for a 10-yard touchdown. Hopkins made the PAT that capped off the 98-yard dive and put the Bolts up 14-3 with 3:42 left in the second quarter.

The Steelers were able to drive down to the Chargers 10-yard line on their ensuing drive. On 2nd-and-1, Roethlisberger floated a pass to the end zone that was caught by Dionate Johnson for a 10-yard touchdown. The PAT made the score 14-10 with 1:09 left to play in the first half.

Los Angeles closed out the first half with a 63-yard drive capped off with a Hopkins field goal with just two seconds left in the second quarter. The Chargers went into halftime with the 17-10 lead.

Third Quarter

The Chargers received the ball to start the third quarter. The Bolts got off to a hot start as Herbert connected with Allen for a 30-yard pass on 3rd-and-13 that brought the Bolts into Steelers' territory. A few plays later, Herbert connected with Ekeler for a short pass. Ekeler then made two Steelers defenders miss and scored his third touchdown of the game. Ekeler's score put the Chargers up 24-10 after the PAT from Hopkins.

The Bolts forced the Steelers to go three-and-out on their ensuing drive. The Chargers were able to put together another scoring drive, this time capped off by a 41-yard field goal from Hopkins, his second made field goal of the night. The field goal put the Chargers up 27-10 with 3:40 left to play in the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Steelers were forced to settle for a field goal on their next drive that carried over from the third quarter after Chargers defensive lineman Joe Gaziano deflected Roethlisberger's pass on third down. Boswell kicked a 36-yard field goal to make the score 27-13, Chargers with 14:10 left in the game.

On the Chargers' ensuing drive, the Steelers forced the Bolts to punt the ball away but as Ty Long went to punt the ball, Miles Killebrew broke through the Chargers line and blocked the punt. The blocked punt gave the ball back to the Steelers on the Chargers' three-yard line and a few plays later, Najee Harris scored on a one-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 27-20 after the PAT.

Herbert continued to get it done on the ground on the Chargers next drive as he scrambled for a 36-yard gain that put the Bolts on the Steelers five-yard line. The very next play Ekeler found the endzone for the fourth time of the night on a five-yard rushing touchdown that made the score 34-20.

The Steelers were able to respond to the Chargers' scoring drive with a touchdown of their own. Roethlisberger found Eric Ebron on a five-yard touchdown pass that capped off a 9 play, 75-yard drive. The score and PAT made it 34-27, Chargers, with 4:49 left in the game.

The Steelers were able to get the ball back after Herbert's pass on the next drive was tipped up in the air by Cameron Heyward and intercepted by Cameron Sutton giving the ball back to Pittsburgh on the Chargers' 11-yard line. A few plays later, Roethlisberger found Pat Freiermuth for a five-yard touchdown pass that tied the game 34-34 after the PAT with 4:23 left.

The Chargers were able to stop the Steelers on third down after they got the ball back on a Chargers failed fourth down attempt. Boswell made the 45-yard field goal that put the Steelers up 37-34 with 3:24 left.

In need of a score, the Chargers answered in a big way with a 53-yard touchdown pass to Williams that gave Herbert 382 passing yards on the day and put the Chargers back on top, 41-37 with 2:09 left in the game.

On the Steelers ensuing drive, Kyler Fackrell and Joey Bosa sacked Roethlisberger on back-to-back plays that ended up putting the Steelers in a 4th-and-32 situation. The Chargers forced the turnover on downs on fourth down, and kneed the ball to end the game and walk away with the win, 41-37 for their sixth win of the season.