Steeler Rally Sinks Chargers : Pittsburgh: A 91-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter helps end San Diego’s two-game winning streak, 20-17.

PITTSBURGH —  The San Diego Chargers were just getting pretty good at this business of winning as underdogs--at least until Sunday.

They knew, as did their last two opponents--Philadelphia and the Raiders--that their talent was inferior, but they used it as incentive to score two consecutive upsets.

But the Chargers finally found a team they knew they could beat on Sunday, even though the Pittsburgh Steelers were slight favorites at Three Rivers Stadium. The Steelers’ offense was the worst in the league and the Charger defense had played as well as any in the NFL the last eight weeks.

And instead of celebrating their third consecutive win, the Chargers were left wondering just what went wrong in a 20-17 loss.

After all, the Chargers had 20 first downs to Pittsburgh’s 14 and outgained the Steelers, 359 yards to 151.

They lost because they gave the ball away twice on botched punt returns.

And they lost because quarterback Jim McMahon, who completed 19 of 36 passes for 226 yards, threw an interception right into the hands of Pittsburgh linebacker David Little in the fourth quarter.

Trailing by three and driving for what the Chargers figured would be the winning touchdown, McMahon called an audible.

The Steelers countered, and Charger Coach Dan Henning said McMahon probably never saw Little at the Steeler 36-yard line.

The Chargers (4-7) also lost because they allowed Rod Woodson to race 84 yards for a touchdown on a kickoff return that gave Pittsburgh (5-6) a 13-10 lead midway through the third period.

The Chargers also may have lost in part because of the scathing remarks Charger rookie defensive end Burt Grossman directed at almost everybody ever connected with the Steeler organization before to the game.

“I think it fired this team up,” said Steeler tackle Tom Ricketts, a former college teammate of Grossman’s at Pitt. “I know the team took it seriously.”

But loss can be directly attributed to the Steelers’ 91-yard touchdown drive on 12 plays in the middle of the fourth quarter.

With the Steelers trailing, 17-13, quarterback Bubby Brister completed a 19-yard pass to Louis Lipps. Running back Merril Hoge broke loose up the middle for 31 yards, the longest run of his three-year NFL career.

Then Brister, who finished with 12 completions in 27 attempts for 142 yards, threw to tight end Mike Mularkey for a 22-yard gain .

Suddenly Pittsburgh had first-and-10 at the Charger 12. Six more plays and one first down later the Steelers were staring at a fourth-and-one. They called timeout.

When they returned to the field they inserted wide receiver Rodney Carter and lined up in a split back set. Their aim was to make the Chargers believe Brister would roll out.

And they succeeded. Hoge scored easily on a one-yard trap play and the Chargers had lost to a team they could have beaten.

The Chargers took a 17-13 lead late in the third quarter when McMahon threw 19 yards to Anthony Miller for a score.