3 things we learned from Steelers loss to Los Angeles Chargers

The Steelers put up a valiant effort against the Los Angeles Chargers but came up short in the end

First, let me say just say this:  I personally do not care who is on the field or who is not on the field.  We are the Pittsburgh Steelers.  We do not give up forty-one points to anybody.  I frankly have no idea what was being called on defense, but knowing that the defense was without several starters, how about we call something that does not put our backups in positions to fail?

Offensively, had it not been for Ben Roethlisberger, I do not think we score thirty-seven points.  The offensive line continues to struggle.  According to ESPN, the Steelers ‘O-line’ gave up three sacks, but it was three sacks too many.  Knowing that we have ‘Big Ben’ back there and knowing that he gives us the best chance to win, how about buckling down to assure that he stays upright?

Let’s delve further into the loss to the Los Angeles Chargers to see what else we learned.

The Steelers offensive thrives when we go ‘up tempo’ with ‘Big Ben’ at the helm

Here’s what I would do on offense if I was Matt Canada:  Let my franchise and future Hall of Fame QB decide when it’s time to go ‘up tempo’.  If the personnel group the defense has on the field is favorable to us, let ‘Big Ben’ direct traffic.

Ever since ‘Big Ben’ became the starting QB, whenever the offense needed a spark, we went with the ‘up tempo’ or ‘lightning’ package.  I realize we can’t go ‘up tempo’ every drive, but against the Chargers, once the deficit became seventeen points heading into the fourth quarter, the Steelers really had no other option.

We scored twenty-seven points in the fourth quarter by essentially going ‘up tempo’.  Inherently, what that means is that ‘Big Ben” is calling the plays with some input, I’m sure, from Canada.  Why couldn’t we score twenty-seven points in the first half?

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the offense works better and complements the defense better when we score enough points for the defense to protect a lead.  Playing from behind is not what we want to do, but these slow starts are frankly sabotaging our chances of winning games.

Let’s see what we learned on defense.