The Pittsburgh Steelers were 1-4 heading into last Sunday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, with the Baltimore Ravens having already advanced to 4-2 earlier in the day at that point. With a loss in Carson, they could have fallen three games back in the division with 10 weeks left to go, and no indication that things are going to get better.
And they were starting a rookie undrafted free agent quarterback who had just made his NFL debut the week before late in the second half. But the team played as a whole, all three phases of the game, to earn a rare west-coast victory under very trying circumstances, much to the pleasure of owner Art Rooney II, who spoke to Ian Rapoport earlier this week on the NFL Network reporter’s podcast.