What you need to know
Justin Herbert injury dooms Chargers in loss to Steelers
Steelers extend lead on Calvin Austin III’s 55-yard TD catch
Justin Herbert and Chargers don’t last in road loss to Steelers
PITTSBURGH — He played through fractured rib cartilage two years ago; a broken left finger last year. But Justin Herbert couldn’t play through this.
The Chargers’ dream start chipped away into a nightmare as their star quarterback re-aggravated a right ankle injury in a 20-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0) on Sunday in front of 66,734 at Acrisure Stadium.
Testing their undefeated record against their first playoff opponent from the previous season, the Chargers (2-1) left Pittsburgh battered and bruised with key injuries on both sides of the ball.
“Not every game’s gonna be a fairy tale ending,” coach Jim Harbaugh said.
Worse than losing a glass slipper, the Chargers gained a walking boot. Herbert left the arena with his right foot in a gray protective boot after getting sacked twice while throwing for 125 yards and one touchdown on 12 of 18 passing before Taylor Heinicke entered in relief.
Justin Herbert injury dooms Chargers in loss to Steelers
Steelers 20, Chargers 10 — FINAL
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert aggravated his ankle injury and sat out the entire fourth quarter as the Chargers suffered their first loss of the season Sunday.
A 30-yard field goal by Chris Boswell in the third quarter gave the Steelers their first lead of the game before a 55-yard touchdown pass from Justin Fields to Calvin Austin III put the game out of reach for the Chargers.
The Chargers were struggling a bit with Herbert under center in the third quarter, but the offense couldn’t generate anything significant with backup Taylor Heinicke.
Herbert completed 12 of 18 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown and Quentin Johnston led Chargers receivers with two catches for 22 yards. The stingy Steelers defense held J.K. Dobbins to 44 yards in 15 carries.
Steelers quarterback Justin Fields completed 25 of 32 passes for 245 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Calvin Austin III made four catches for 95 yards, with a touchdown, and Najee Harris had 70 yards in 18 carries for Pittsburgh.
Herbert isn’t the only player whose status could be in the air heading into next week’s AFC West showdown with Kansas City. Linebacker Joey Bosa sat out most of the game after sustaining a hip injury on the Steelers’ first possession. In addition, rookie offensive lineman Joe Alt limped off on the Chargers’ final possession with an undisclosed injury.
Joe Alt limps off after miserable Chargers possession
Chargers rookie offensive lineman Joe Alt, the team’s first-round pick, limped off the field after a disastrous possession for the Chargers late in the fourth quarter, with the Steelers leading 20-10.
Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig sacked Taylor Heinicke for a 10-yard loss on first down, then Heinicke was sacked again for another 10-yard loss by defensive tackle Cam Heyward on third down to end a miserable possession. Alt was injured on the play leading to the Heyward sack.
Alt was shown on camera limping to the sideline medical tent.
Steelers extend lead on Calvin Austin III’s 55-yard TD catch
Calvin Austin III caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Justin Fields to give the Steelers a 20-10 lead with 7:02 left in the fourth quarter.
Austin managed to break coverage and find daylight up the middle of the Chargers’ secondary, beating Elijah Molden in a sprint to the end zone.
That touchdown gives Pittsburgh a commanding lead in what has largely been a defensive battle. With Justin Herbert sidelined because of an ankle injury, the Chargers’ hopes of a 3-0 are dimming.
Fields has completed 24 of 31 passes for 247 yards, with a touchdown and interception. Austin has four catches for 95 yards.
T.J. Watt sacks Chargers QB Taylor Heinicke on third down
The Chargers are struggling without Justin Herbert under center.
T.J. Watt sacked quarterback Taylor Heinicke on third down to force a punt at midfield. The Steelers will take over at their own 16-yard line.
Herbert (ankle) is officially listed as questionable to return, but it would be shocking if he plays another down today.
Steelers take lead on 30-yard field goal by Chris Boswell
The Steelers capped a 12-play, 73-yard drive with a 30-yard field goal by Chris Boswell to take a 13-10 lead with 14:14 left in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers defense put the brakes on the driving Steelers, but the big question is — can the Taylor Heinicke-led Chargers respond and retake the lead?
Herbert is officially questionable to return, but he’s on the sideline wearing a cap and headset.
Steelers driving as third quarter ends
The Steelers are threatening in the red zone as we enter the fourth quarter tied 10-10.
The Chargers drew three defensive penalties on this drive to help the Steelers march down the field. The mistakes all came from star players Derwin James Jr. (unnecessary roughness), Khalil Mack (roughing the passer) and Asante Samuel Jr. (holding).
Meanwhile, Justin Herbert has emerged from the injury tent and took a seat with his helmet in hand next to Taylor Heinicke on the sideline. Herbert is officially questionable to return.
Taylor Heinicke in as Justin Herbert injured on sack
Justin Herbert was sacked for a nine-yard loss on first down and has gone into the injury tent as the Chargers were forced to punt after a defensive takeaway.
Herbert is questionable to return as Taylor Heinicke came off the bench for a third-down handoff to J.K. Dobbins. Herbert stayed in on second down and handed the ball to Dobbins, who ran for four yards.
Herbert sat on the sideline with three trainers before ducking into the tent. He is 12-for-18 passing for 125 yards and one touchdown and has been sacked twice.
Bud Dupree wins the tip drill for Chargers
Bud Dupree said not so fast.
Just when the Steelers threatened to grab momentum, the outside linebacker came down with an interception that puts the Chargers offense back on the field at their 34-yard line in a 10-10 game with 7:53 remaining in the third.
Dupree got the interception on a pass intended for Cordarrelle Patterson that bounced off at least five or six other players before landing in Dupree’s hands. As one of my colleagues in the press box just said: “That’s weird football.”
Chargers open second half with three-and-out
Momentum is starting to shift toward the home team as the Steelers tied the game on their opening drive of the second half while the Chargers went three-and-out and nearly turned the ball over.
Justin Herbert was sacked and fumbled on second down when Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig blew past left tackle Rashawn Slater. Herbig swiped at the ball and knocked it out of Herbert’s hands before Slater was able to jump on it. Throwing from his own end zone, Herbert was off the mark on third down. The Chargers then set the Steelers up with prime field position after a short, 39-yard punt.
The Steelers, with the game tied 10-10, take over at the Chargers’ 41-yard line with 8:01 to go in the third.
Steelers tie it up with a field goal
The Chargers held the Steelers to a 38-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half and are tied 10-10 with 9:05 remaining in the third.
The Steelers drove into the red zone, highlighted by a 25-yard pass from Justin Fields to Calvin Austin III on third-and-14. Edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu happened to drop into coverage on the play and Fields was able to complete a pass toward that side of the field as the Steelers got to the Chargers’ 17-yard line.
The defense didn’t allow another yard though as Kristian Fulton defended an incomplete pass on third down to force the field goal.
Joey Bosa is out for second half
As we begin the second half, Joey Bosa has been downgraded to out with a hip injury.
The Steelers begin the second half on offense with the Chargers up 10-7.
Chargers cling to three-point lead at halftime
Chris Boswell’s 62-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half sailed wide right as the Chargers return to the locker room with a 10-7 lead.
Justin Herbert reminded everyone that he’s doing just fine despite the worry about his ankle as he uncorked a Hail Mary attempt near midfield with one second left, but it fell incomplete in the end zone.
Herbert has 125 passing yards and one touchdown while completing 12 of 16 attempts.
The Chargers had a two-minute opportunity to extend their lead to at least six or push it to a two-score advantage to put extra pressure on the Steelers entering the second half. Pittsburgh will begin the third quarter with the ball.
Instead, Herbert nearly had a pass intercepted on first-and-10 from the Chargers’ 36-yard line that stalled the two-minute drive. The Chargers punted the ball back after another incompletion from Herbert and a short gain for J.K. Dobbins.
With 44 seconds remaining, Justin Fields moved the Steelers into Chargers territory, but threw incomplete on third down, forcing the long field-goal try.
Fields is 14 for 17 for 105 yards with one rushing touchdown.
Chargers take lead back with field goal
The Chargers stalled in the red zone and settled for a 28-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker to take a 10-7 lead with 3:13 remaining in the second quarter.
Justin Herbert’s first incomplete pass of the game came on third-and-eight from the 10-yard line when he sailed a pass over the head of Simi Fehoko, who was running free in the back of the end zone. Herbert started with nine consecutive completions and has 100 passing yards and one touchdown.
J.K. Dobbins was stopped for a one-yard loss on second down, setting up the third-and-long. Dobbins has 32 yards on nine carries.
Joey Bosa questionable to return with injury
Joey Bosa sustained a hip injury in the first quarter and is questionable to return, the Chargers announced.
The outside linebacker is still on the sideline with his teammates as of the beginning of the second quarter, but has been mostly standing without his helmet. Trainers were stretching out his left hip earlier on the sideline.
Tuli Tuipulotu has two tackles off the bench in Bosa’s place.
Justin Fields gets Steelers on the board
Justin Fields has entered the chat.
Fields rushed for a five-yard touchdown to tie the game 7-7 with 10:17 to go in the second half.
The Steelers quarterback struggled through two games when the team had just one touchdown, but Fields is a perfect 10-for-10 passing for 58 yards. He also has eight rushing yards and one touchdown on four carries.
Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. missed an open-field tackle on the drive that allowed Scotty Miller take a short pass for a 20-yard gain to the 12-yard line, setting up the red-zone drive. This is the first red-zone touchdown the Chargers have given up this season.
Herbert finds Johnston for touchdown
Justin Herbert’s arm is definitely still working.
The quarterback fired a 27-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Quentin Johnston down the sideline for the game’s first points as the Chargers took a 7-0 lead with 2:46 remaining in the first quarter.
Herbert was under significant pressure on the game’s second drive and fumbled a snap, which led to a three-and-out. But he got the offense started with a first-down pass to Ladd McConkey to open the third drive. Herbert is five-for-five to begin the game for 58 yards and a touchdown.
J.K. Dobbins has four carries for 22 yards, including a 13-yard run on the scoring drive.
Joey Bosa shaken up on first defensive play
Joey Bosa was slow to get up after rushing the quarterback on the Chargers’ first defensive play. He walked off the field gingerly with trainers after Justin Fields wiggled free for four yards.
The oft-injured Bosa stayed on the sideline with trainers, who appeared to be working on his left leg or hip ara. He was dealing with back tightness after the first game but was recently on the injury report with a hip injury.
The Chargers still forced a three-and-out on their first defensive drive, thanks to a third-down tackle by Tuli Tuipulotu. The second-year player out of USC entered the game in Bosa’s place, showing the depth the Chargers have at the edge rusher position. Bosa did not come onto the field to begin the next defensive drive after the Chargers were forced to punt.
Chargers offense opens with three-and-out
Justin Herbert started with back-to-back handoffs to running back J.K. Dobbins, who mustered just four yards on the two carries. Facing third-and-six, Herbert could only dump off a short pass to Dobbins, who was stopped on a three-yard gain.
Even with Herbert available, expect a heavy dose of the run game. The Chargers are one of four teams in the NFL with more rushing yards than passing yards entering Sunday’s game. The Steelers are also part of the exclusive old-school football group.
‘Let’s play football’
The Steelers won the toss and will defer. The Chargers will begin with the ball with Justin Herbert under center. As the referee said after the coin toss: “Let’s play football!”
Justin Herbert in line to start against Steelers
Justin Herbert took snaps from No. 1 center Bradley Bozeman during warmups, suggesting the star quarterback is not only available for the game, but he is expected to start despite missing most of practice this week with a high ankle sprain.
Herbert will face a tough task against a Steelers defense that is second in the NFL in points allowed per game. The Pittsburgh defense has fueled the team’s first 2-0 start since 1999. The offense, which will start quarterback Justin Fields for the third straight game, has just one touchdown in the two wins.
Although the top quarterback is available, Herbert will be without receiver Joshua Palmer, who is inactive with elbow and calf injuries. With Palmer out, rookie receiver Brenden Rice is active for the first time. After the team’s brief pregame huddle at midfield, Rice took an extra moment on a knee to say a prayer.
Why Chargers’ run-heavy offense can be Justin Herbert’s ‘best friend’
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Justin Herbert’s lauded right arm launched deep touchdowns and threaded passes through tiny windows. Now it’s quietly handing the ball off. Onlookers wring their hands about Herbert’s seemingly diminished role in an offense that suddenly ranks second in rushing, but the Chargers nod patiently as their plan settles in.
“A running game,” Chargers quarterbacks coach Shane Day said, “is a quarterback’s best friend.”
Through two games, Herbert’s personal stats have been mostly forgettable. Keeping pace with his first four record-setting seasons in which he threw 2,422 times for 17,223 yards seemed impossible anyway.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will play against Steelers
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert warms up before Sunday’s game against Steelers. (Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
Hello from Pittsburgh! This is Thuc Nhi Nguyen, the Times’ Chargers beat reporter. We’re at Acrisure Stadium where I’ve watched Justin Herbert hop, jog and throw for the last 25 minutes. Herbert injured his ankle last week against the Carolina Panthers and was questionable with a right high ankle sprain, but he will at least be active today against the Steelers.
After going through warmups, Herbert hugged each receiver individually and huddled with his teammates along with fellow quarterbacks Easton Stick and Taylor Heinicke. Stick and Heinicke are both active for the game, making it the first time this season that the Chargers will have three quarterbacks available.
Interior linemen tackle Chargers’ biggest question mark on NFL’s No. 1 defense
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was the Chargers’ first major opportunity to reintroduce themselves. On fourth and one in the season opener, however, it wasn’t Joey Bosa or Khalil Mack who made the play that sent the defense’s first warning shot of the Jim Harbaugh era.
It was Poona Ford and Otito Ogbonnia who came crashing into the backfield.
The pair of 300-pound tackles who combined to stop the Las Vegas Raiders on the Chargers’ second defensive series of the season have turned the team’s line from a question mark to a strength while setting the tone for the stingiest scoring defense in the NFL, giving up just 6.5 points per game.
The Chargers’ established edge rushers are the stars of the defensive front, and the interior linemen are ready to make names for themselves as well.
Justin Herbert misses Chargers practice again: ‘Thankfully it’s only Friday’
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert talks about his ankle injury and his status for Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers (Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert said he was diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 26-year-old sat out practice again Friday and had a thick layer of athletic tape wrapped over his right cleat as he worked through exercises with a trainer on the campus of University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Herbert, who suffered the injury last Sunday in a win over the Carolina Panthers, is “doing everything necessary” to play Sunday, coach Jim Harbaugh said, but the quarterback could not commit to whether he expected to take the field at Acrisure Stadium.
Chargers vs. Steelers: How to watch, prediction and betting odds
They’ve won at home. They’ve won on the road. The Chargers now get a glimpse of how they might fare in the playoffs.
After beating up on the Raiders and the Panthers — who combined for nine wins last season — the Chargers face what coach Jim Harbaugh calls their “playoff opener” against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are the Chargers’ first opponent that went to the playoffs last year.
Featuring the top two stingiest scoring defenses in the NFL, Sunday’s game is likely to be a slugfest. Although the Chargers have had no trouble relying on running back J.K. Dobbins for the majority of their offense, Justin Herbert’s ankle injury still casts significant concern about the team’s chances against a Steelers defense that has given up just eight points per game.