Running back James Conner made sure that his rookie quarterback had all of the help he needed on Sunday night. Conner had 119 yards from scrimmage, along with both a rushing and receiving touchdown, as the Pittsburgh Steelers downed the Chargers 24-17 in Los Angeles.
Conner’s great game gave a huge boost to quarterback Devlin Hodges. The rookie, making his first career start after Mason Rudolph suffered a concussion last week against the Ravens, completed 15-of-20 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown and interception. It’s just the fifth time in 26 games in franchise history that Pittsburgh won on the road with a quarterback making his first NFL start.
The Steelers put Los Angeles in a hole early, where the defense forced two turnovers in the first quarter on back-to-back possessions. First, rookie Devin Bush recovered a fumble and took it nine yards to the end zone for the first score of the game. Four plays later, Bush intercepted Philip Rivers, which started Pittsburgh’s first scoring drive that resulted in Conner’s first touchdown of the game.
After forcing a punt, the Steelers took over on their own 14-yard line. From there, Hodges, Conner, and backup Benny Snell forged a 14-play, 86-yard drive that stretched out over nine minutes and ended with a 26-yard touchdown reception for Conner. The Chargers answered with a lengthy drive of their own but left with zero points at halftime after a missed 43-yard kick.
Chargers Rally
Up 21-0 after halftime, Pittsburgh kicked a field goal to extend their lead. But from this point, it was all Chargers. After kicking a field goal to get on the board, Los Angeles’ Rayshawn Jenkins intercepted Hodges early in the fourth quarter. LA then drove down the field in a little over three minutes before Rivers connected with tight end Hunter Henry for the first time in the end zone.
After forcing a punt, the Chargers went on another scoring drive, once again ending with a touchdown catch by Henry. After the defense held Hodges in check and forced another punt, Los Angeles was starting at its own one-yard line, down by seven with 1:03 to go.
After an incomplete pass on the first play, Rivers targeted wide receiver Mike Williams deep but was intercepted by Cameron Sutton to ice the game for the Steelers.
With the victory, Pittsburgh improved to 2-4 on the season, tied with the Browns for second place in the AFC North. Whether it’s Hodges or Rudolph under center, the schedule is pretty favorable over the next few weeks, with three straight home games, including next Monday night against the winless Dolphins.
However, the status of Conner is up in the air, as the star running back left Sunday’s game in the third quarter with a quad injury and did not return.
As for Los Angeles, it fell to 2-4 on the season, dropping four out of its last five. The games going forward won’t get much easier than facing a third-string quarterback at home, with trips to Tennessee and Chicago on the docket next. Rivers and company are now tied with the Broncos for third place in the AFC West.
