Breaking down the notable numbers behind the Chargers’ 41-37 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
1
Touchdown allowed by the Steelers on the opponent’s first drive this season. The Chargers became the first when Austin Ekeler ran six yards for a score to complete a 17-play drive.
5
Career games in which Ekeler has had at least one receiving and one rushing touchdown. That’s second to Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson (seven) on the Chargers’ all-time list. Ekeler had two each against Pittsburgh.
3
Running backs in 30 years to score at least five rushing and five receiving touchdowns in the first 10 games of a season, after Ekeler ed Kareem Hunt and Marshall Faulk. Ekeler has run for a career-high seven this season.
4
Players since 1950 to throw for at least 7,000 yards in their first 25 starts, after the Chargers’ Justin Herbert ed Patrick Mahomes, Kurt Warner and Dan Marino.
10
Career games in which Herbert has thrown at least three touchdown es. Only Marino (13) has more such games in his first two seasons since 1950. Herbert also ran for a QB franchise-record 90 yards.
Summary
Pittsburgh 3 7 0 27 — 37
CHARGERS 7 10 10 14 — 41
| First Quarter |
Pittsburgh — Field goal Boswell 36, 8:29. Drive: 14 plays, 57 yards, 6:31. Key plays: Roethlisberger 8 to Claypool on 3rd-and-5, Roethlisberger 4 to Freiermuth on 3rd-and-3, Roethlisberger 16 to D.Johnson. Pittsburgh 3, CHARGERS 0.
CHARGERS — Ekeler 6 run (Hopkins kick), 2:09. Drive: 13 plays, 73 yards, 6:20. Key plays: Roberts kick return to CHARGERS 27, Herbert 22 to Williams on 3rd-and-14, Herbert 11 to K.Allen, Ekeler 3 run on 3rd-and-2, Herbert 17 to Williams on 3rd-and-3. CHARGERS 7, Pittsburgh 3.
| Second Quarter |
CHARGERS — Ekeler 10 from Herbert (Hopkins kick), 3:42. Drive: 12 plays, 98 yards, 6:54. Key plays: Ekeler 10 run, Herbert 18 run on 3rd-and-6, Herbert 10 to Parham, Herbert 18 run, Herbert 18 to K.Allen. CHARGERS 14, Pittsburgh 3.
Pittsburgh — D.Johnson 10 from Roethlisberger (Boswell kick), 1:09. Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards, 2:33. Key plays: McCloud kick return to Pittsburgh 36, N.Harris 12 run, Roethlisberger 22 to D.Johnson. CHARGERS 14, Pittsburgh 10.
CHARGERS — Field goal Hopkins 30, :02. Drive: 9 plays, 63 yards, 1:07. Key plays: Herbert 14 to K.Allen, Herbert 10 to Cook, Herbert 18 to Guyton. CHARGERS 17, Pittsburgh 10.
| Third Quarter |
CHARGERS — Ekeler 17 from Herbert (Hopkins kick), 11:50. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 3:10. Key plays: Roberts kick return to CHARGERS 30, Herbert 30 to K.Allen on 3rd-and-13, Herbert 14 to K.Allen, Ekeler 12 run. CHARGERS 24, Pittsburgh 10.
CHARGERS — Field goal Hopkins 41, 3:40. Drive: 11 plays, 51 yards, 6:28. Key plays: Herbert 17 to Palmer, Herbert 13 run on 3rd-and-5. CHARGERS 27, Pittsburgh 10.
| Fourth Quarter |
Pittsburgh — Field goal Boswell 36, 14:10. Drive: 11 plays, 57 yards, 4:30. Key plays: Roethlisberger 28 to Claypool on 3rd-and-2, Roethlisberger 7 to N.Harris on 3rd-and-2. CHARGERS 27, Pittsburgh 13.
Pittsburgh — N.Harris 1 run (Boswell kick), 11:35. Drive: 4 plays, 3 yards, 00:58. CHARGERS 27, Pittsburgh 20.
CHARGERS — Ekeler 5 run (Hopkins kick), 8:48. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:47. Key plays: Herbert 11 to Parham, Herbert 12 to Parham, Herbert 36 run on 3rd-and-5. CHARGERS 34, Pittsburgh 20.
Pittsburgh — Ebron 5 from Roethlisberger (Boswell kick), 4:49. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:59. Key plays: Roethlisberger 16 to Claypool, Roethlisberger 4 to McCloud on 3rd-and-3, Roethlisberger 32 to D.Johnson on 3rd-and-5, Roethlisberger 18 to Ebron. CHARGERS 34, Pittsburgh 27.
Pittsburgh — Freiermuth 5 from Roethlisberger (Boswell kick), 4:23. Drive: 2 plays, 11 yards, 00:13. Key play: Sutton 4 interception return to CHARGERS 11. Pittsburgh 34, CHARGERS 34.
Pittsburgh — Field goal Boswell 45, 3:24. Drive: 4 plays, 7 yards, 00:19. Pittsburgh 37, CHARGERS 34.
CHARGERS — Williams 53 from Herbert (Hopkins kick), 2:09. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:15. Key play: Herbert 17 to Ekeler. CHARGERS 41, Pittsburgh 37.
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS |
RUSHING: PITTSBURGH, Harris 12-39, Snell 2-7, McCloud 1-5, Ballage 1-3, Claypool 2-1. CHARGERS, Herbert 9-90, Ekeler 11-50, Palmer 1-6, Rountree 2-5, Roberts 1-4, Guyton 1-2, Jackson 1-2.
ING: PITTSBURGH, Roethlisberger 28-44-0-273. CHARGERS, Herbert 30-41-1-382.
RECEIVING: PITTSBURGH, D.Johnson 7-101, Claypool 5-93, Harris 5-20, Freiermuth 4-11, Ebron 3-24, McCloud 2-12, Washington 2-12. CHARGERS, Allen 9-112, Ekeler 6-65, Williams 5-97, Parham 4-38, Cook 3-28, Guyton 1-18, Palmer 1-17, McKitty 1-7.
PUNT RETURNS: PITTSBURGH, None. CHARGERS, Roberts 1-(minus 1).
KICKOFF RETURNS: PITTSBURGH, McCloud 2-63. CHARGERS, Roberts 2-45.
TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS: PITTSBURGH, Sutton 7-3-0, Norwood 6-1-0, Pierre 5-0-0, Bush 4-0-0, Highsmith 3-3-1.5, Te.Edmunds 3-1-0, Schobert 3-1-0, Wormley 3-1-0, Maulet 3-0-0, Heyward 2-0-0, Witherspoon 2-0-0, Charlton 1-1-.5, Joseph 1-1-0, Spillane 1-0-0, Tuszka 1-0-0, Archibong 0-2-0, Buggs 0-1-0. CHARGERS, White 6-3-0, Samuel 5-2-0, Davis 5-0-0, Adderley 4-1-0, Campbell 4-0-0, Bosa 3-1-1, Harris 3-1-0, James 2-4-0, Nwosu 2-0-1, Fehoko 1-2-0, Gaziano 1-2-0, Fackrell 1-0-1, Brown 1-0-0, Norton 1-0-0, Tranquill 1-0-0, Jones 0-3-0, Rumph 0-2-0, Marshall 0-1-0.
INTERCEPTIONS: PITTSBURGH, Sutton 1-4. CHARGERS, None.
FIELD GOALS MISSED: None.
Officials — Referee Carl Cheffers, Ump Tra Blake, HL Jerry Bergman, LJ Jeff Seeman, FJ Nathan Jones, SJ Eugene Hall, BJ Matt Edwards, Replay Andrew Lambert.
Attendance — 70,240.
