STEELERS SQUAD SHOW: POSTGAME REACTION – Chargers STRIKE DOWN Steelers Offense On SNF!

STEELERS SQUAD SHOW: POSTGAME REACTION – Chargers STRIKE DOWN Steelers Offense On SNF!

Hey, what’s up Steelers Nation? I’m Tyler Feldman. What a joke. Just what an absolute joke. Wayne Chris, I’m looking forward to hearing how you’re positive spinning this one here tonight. And I’m Ben Bobic. Typical. And I’m Wayne Gandandy. Is Isaac Smallu the offensive MVP? Maybe so. And I’m Chris Carter, host of the Lockdown Steelers podcast. You’re watching Steelers Squad Show. Let’s get into it. Wave those terrible towels. It’s the Steelers squad. Everything Pittsburgh Steelers every week, breaking down all the big hits and gamechanging plays from the Steel City. The way only the locked on podcast network can. From the Steel Curtain to the next generation, the Steelers Squad Show starts now. Yes, it does. This is the Steelers Squad show, part of the Locked On Podcast Network now. The number one sports podcast network. And yes, I see some confused faces. I’m playing the daydreaming music that is available on this stream. And that’s what I was doing watching these Steelers tonight. It looked like they were daydreaming just about start to finish. Tonight’s episode brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. Chris, hold on. Got to read the ad read. If your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Again, I’m your host, Tyler Felman. Ben Bobic joining us. 15-year NFL veteran, former Steeler Wayne Gandandy on the show as always. And Christopher Carter here with us tonight as well. It is Sunday night. The Steelers not looking great on Sunday Night Football falling to the Chargers on the West Coast 25-10. We will be having a full recap of the game, instant reaction, that expert analysis, and so much more. Chris, take it away on your thoughts. I’ll turn off the daydreaming music and just let it go silent for you to chat. Yeah, I was worried that like something was playing on my end and I was like, “What the heck is going on?” No, that was me. That was me. I felt it was apppropo for the situation. Not thrilled about what I saw here tonight. No, I I I appreciate you you you including that this was the Streamyard provided music because I was like, we do we have copyright? Uh, you know, but uh I I I hope so. It’s in the StreamYard platform here. So, um, but in all seriousness, I I think what you saw was, uh, the ab the absolute worst performance that we’ve seen from this offense this year, uh, particularly from Aaron Rodgers. And it’s just disappointing because the defense came to play. They came out, they were taking away what the Chargers wanted to do. And hey, I know everyone complains, the defense, can you play well without turnovers? as well. And this was a night that they did, but you see where you you do want the turnovers cuz the Chargers, their two touchdowns came after turnovers and and sometimes those things flip momentum. Um, but I think what’s really disappointing because I know a lot of people I see a lot of people online saying, “Oh, this is why you should have traded for a wide receiver, too.” There were guys open all over the field. I’m not even matter when Kenneth Gainwell’s walking in the middle part of the field. He doesn’t see him. DK Metaf is toast his guy and he can’t get the ball to him. Calvin Austin, same thing. Um, and I’m just like, man, like that there’s no excuse in that. And I think the question is, and I I don’t want to put this say that this is definitely the what it is, but the question is, and we all kind of wondered this going into this season, is is there a fall-off point for Aaron Rogers? Is there a a Russell Wilson end of the year point that he reaches or a Ben Rothosberger like late 2020 point where he reaches where all of a sudden the things come loose? Now, I will say this and I’m sure Wayne will get to this too. the early pressures allowed by the offensive line definitely spooked Aaron Rogers and that’s why you need your O line to come out on on point and and get things I didn’t think they had the worst night but you saw it impact him and then everything else was offkilter uh and you saw Justin Herbert just in his youth and his ability to still handle that he was getting hit all night he was getting pressure but he was able to respond to it better because of who he is and where he is in his career I I I honestly put this game on the the the Chargers quarterback responded to a really good pressure plan from the Steelers uh better than Aaron Rogers responded to a really good pressure plan from the Chargers. You don’t say. I think it’s time we start practicing acceptance with this team because these Steelers tonight, I’m not saying this is exactly who they are, but it is pretty close to evening out evening out these points. And this is definitely one of those dips in the roller coaster. Wayne, Chris mentioned the offensive line, that opening drive, Troy Fatanu, false start, and then he let Khalil Mack beat him, and that to me kind of set the stage for this entire game. How did you see things through your lens start to finish here? I I felt like uh and that’s why I said in the opening comments, it seemed that uh we couldn’t get in the big boy running attack to be physical up front. Uh we found ourselves in too many third second and third and longs. Uh and uh to say what Chris to to back him up for some reason quickly Aaron Rogers got gunshot. I don’t know. He he he got gunshot like Derek Carr back with the Houston Texans back in the day. Uh real quick after about two or three plays he seemed to be rattled. uh even on the safety uh it seemed like he was just drawing a blank sometimes uh once the ball he didn’t know how to make the read uh and when he did he wouldn’t step into the throw and I don’t know what it was about tonight and and you have to imagine that he was going to have two or three of these this season and we talked about how would they be able to function offensively when Aaron Rogers has a bad game. I mean, there’s no quarterback. There’s no player that does not have a bad game. And they had nothing. You know, we didn’t get the turnovers, so we couldn’t get the short field to where all he had to do was uh throw the ball out on the edge and somebody makes a big play. Uh and then once we got behind, you just didn’t feel like we were going to have the protection to be able to hold up uh to really move the ball. So, I’m with you guys. I felt like guys were getting open. Uh there was just not a lot of time. both tackles struggled there uh in situations a lot of times, not necessarily giving up sacks, but definitely where he was spooked uh and and kind of froze a couple like deer in the headlights and we’re talking about a Hall of Famer, but every once in a while he kind of just censed up like he didn’t know what to do uh with the football. Um and it was just it got a little out of the hand. But that first half it was some heavyweight punches thrown. I was loving it. Even though both offenses were struggling, they were struggling because the defenses were dominating. It just eventually we cracked there as the second half started. Aaron Rogers a little gunshy. A former Steeler making national headlines earlier this week. Apparently not gunshy at all. And here are the Steelers now sitting in a situation where the Ravens have won three straight. They’re four and five. And the Steelers now losing. and they’ve lost three of their last four. They’re now five and four. So, Ben, I mean, we’re at a point where what’s going to happen? I I’m really not sure. I don’t have the best confidence in the world, the most confidence in the world, but we’ve seen how this Steelers team is still capable of winning big games, but this doesn’t really leave a good taste in my mouth. No, absolutely not. And it’s it’s it’s it’s like it’s a bad game. Allound bad game. I will say one thing about the Ravens though, and I was yelling at the screen before the the game tonight, like, let’s not all act like we’re surprised that the Ravens are doing what they’re doing with with with Lamar Jackson back in the lineup and and then then their schedule. Like, let’s not like, oh my gosh, like we have one and five. I get it, but let’s not be surprised that they’re winning football games that they should with Lamar Jackson back at quarterback. Anyhoodles, back to the Steelers. It bad as it gets, man. It just too many missed opportunities there early. they had really had a chance to to take advantage of I think about I mean from from the start I mean from the start you get the ball at the the the Charger you know you get the ball at the 40 yardd line and then the first play of the game is a false start penalty and it’s like what what what are we doing here like come on this is the this is the first play of the game and and they even even deep into the second half and that that’s where where where the defense was was really what they really were keeping them in the game they were giving those chances to to get back in the game I think in the in the second half there had a chance to seize the momentum after the the Chargers come out, get the ball out of the out of the half, they get the punt, they they they start they start rolling a little bit, they get third and two and then you can’t pick it up. I mean, like, come on. Like, you go you go a timeout. They called a timeout early in the half and then they have a third and two and they didn’t even come close to converting it. And it’s like what? That that’s a chance to seize momentum there. And they they just miss on so many opportunities, too many self-inflicted wounds and uh and and it just ultimately just stacked up. I think ultimately Chris said on it. I mean, if you want to look at it through just a simple lens, AR8 didn’t have it tonight, man. Aaron Rogers did not have anything close to his good stuff, even if it’s is mediocre stuff. It was as bad as it gets for for him in a Steelers uniform. And you know what? If that’s if that’s the bottom there, I hope that’s the only time we see it because it was it was and that that was his by far his worst game as the Steeler. And it would just it came at a it came at a tough time because it if you really look at it I I really think this was a winnable game for the Steelers if they didn’t uh if things just didn’t snowball the way that it did. Steelers two for 11 on third down minus three in the turnover department. Aaron Rogers completing just about 50% of his passes only 161 yards one touchdown late two interceptions. He was sacked three times. Chris where does this team go now? Uh clearly changes adjustments need to be made. The defense played good enough to win this football game, but the offense mysterious right now which way they’re headed. Yeah. I mean, you as always, you don’t want to have knee-jerk reactions to everything and just like change everything right now is just rarely the way to go because that’s what’s going to come. But like here’s the thing is that like you’ve seen the offense have some good games for like most of most of this season. when you go back and you see how they perform, this is the first time that they haven’t reached 21 21 points or more since week two against Seattle. Like this is this is this is a rarity. Now, what you do have to check is making sure that this isn’t the a new trend that’s starting up here. But like for example, when everyone, you know, question is the defense terrible now uh because of how they played against the Bengals and Packers? Then you see the performance they did they had last week against the Colts and even this week against the Chargers, the defense, I think, can course correct just like this offense can course correct. But the the question is about Aaron Rogers age and I think that’s the thing that looms over this team is is like is this going to happen again like it did last year where Russell Wilson was lighting things on fire against the commanders and the Bengals the middle parts of the season beating teams with good quarterbacks you know you know on the road with inspiring play and then you know even even keeping him in the game against the Ravens until he had those two bad turnovers and then just completely fell apart late in the season. Um I I don’t think it’s that there yet for Aaron Rogers. He’s typically a smart quarterback and there were a lot of plays that I thought he left out the you know smart quarterback opportunities. Um even like on on the DK Metap interception, Kenneth Gainwell just cooks his man to the inside is wide open and he tries to go for his number one guy and in doing so just completely misses and and throws it right to the defense. Um other plays where DK Medaf was wide open he missed him on. Same thing for Calvin Austin. um you know on the on the fourth down where he tried to force it to double a double team to DK Medcap. I I thought they designed exactly what you want from Pat Footh. He did like a like a sort of you know a Texas sort of route where he cuts out breaks back inside. Uh he had momentum and if he hits him with with a quick pass over the middle his with his power and size he could probably push his way into the end zone. I’ll also say two more plays. Um John Smith the one he had to sky up for. If he just throws it right to him, I didn’t see anybody in front of him. He could turn and run into the end zone. Kenneth Gainwell on the third down before the fourth down, just throwing it up really high for no reason. If he just hits that to him, Kenneth Gwell’s fast enough to turn it up. That’s two plays right there. Forget everything else. Forget the the fourth the fourth down play and the interception. He makes those two very standard throws. Those are touchdowns. 14 points on drives. They got zero points. throw 14 points on this on this board right now, it’s a game all all of a sudden. Those are things you have to take it to a guy. And here’s the other thing. If they score those points, when they score those points, the defense gets energy, gets juice, there’s pressure on the Chargers, have to be aggressive, more chances for for turnovers. And they just didn’t happen. And so, uh, like you guys are saying, the defense came to play. They and this was a game that was very winnable. If the offense did today what it has done for most of this season, and that’s what’s really disappointing. Defense sacked Justin Herbert five times. I really liked the way the defense played. I’m I’m numb now to this situation, these kinds of games, because I don’t really know if I have expectations anymore for the Steelers. I I’m not mad. I’m disappointed, but I’m numb to this kind of performance because I think that’s what allows me to keep my sanity. Wayne, I that’s where I’m at right now. Unfortunately, with I’m I’m not saying I’m at the Pirates level of numbness and and I’m I don’t watch the Pirates. I still watch the Steelers. It still brings me joy, but I didn’t really have a ton of joyous joyful moments. I mean, we’re getting close to the holiday season. Nothing was gift wrapped in this one. Well, you you’re a fan, aren’t you, Tyler? We you got to stay optimistic. Well, hey, it’s really hard when I’m watching what I’m watching. Well, it it was disheartening just, you know, and I think the four of us all are just saying that uh Aaron Rogers in this kind of performance, uh they they won’t win any games with him being that far off tonight. No quarter. It’s the worst in the time I’ve ever watched him play. It’s the worst game I’ve because he never came out of it. Uh you know, you can have a bad quarter, even a bad half, but he had a bad game. Um and he just looked like he was rattled and frustrated. Uh and uh we still um as we keep trying to find and put it on this a second receiver, third receiver that has to come around. But sometimes you got to start figuring out how to get these guys the ball, you know, because they start they’re professional, too. They’re sitting over there. They you’re not gonna throw me the ball, so why am I all out effort? Now, that’s no excuse for why Calvin Austin missed that one little that’s kind of slant pass. Uh that was just bad football. But, uh we can’t just keep going back to we’re not going to use these guys. You got to get them a couple of touches uh in the game, make a point to get everybody in rhythm. But tonight, the Chargers uh and their defense, just like we’re saluting the Steelers defense, the Chargers defense came to play, especially rushing the passer, being disruptive. It was a physical game. Uh they were willing to match the physicality of the Steelers and and play uh you know, it looked like a Big 10 football game there uh for a while. I don’t need I don’t know if we need to bring up the Big 10. It’s been a tough weekend for a couple of us on this show, man. I I you know, you could have said you could have said the SEC. You could have said the SEC, man. You said the Big 10. That’s unbelievable. Uh let’s go to break. We’ll be right back. We’re going to have more of this Steelers getting struck down in LA. What went wrong? We’ll go into Wayne’s world and see what he wants to highlight to the tenth degree on maybe where the Steelers can change or what they need to keep doing that they’re doing well. Who knows? That’ll be next right here on the Steelers Squad Show on the Locked On Network. I’m Cody Ror from Lockdown Broncos and this episode is brought to you by Pelaton. 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Hey, what’s up Steelers Squad Show? Eddie Garcia here on location in Los Angeles getting ready to watch the Steelers play the Chargers and Steelers Nation is representing very well here in Los Angeles. I just talked Eddie. He’s crying. He He’s got a box of tissues. an absolute massacre. His wife a huge Chargers fan. She’s very happy. So, I’m glad Eddie was there. Part of the locked on Steelers squad show here, but I’m not sure Eddie enjoyed what he saw tonight. Back here second quarter. Ben Bobbit, Christopher Carter, Wayne Gandandy. I’m Tyler Feldman. So glad you’re spending your Sunday night with us talking about the Steelers 25-10 loss. Ben, I’ll go to you. Steelers nation represented. You had Troy Palamalu there. Uh I it’s it’s hard to perform like that with that man in the building, but that’s what happened. I I where I I don’t even know what is else what else is on your mind here, Ben, as you you sit through that one and and reflect. Yeah. The the best way I could make myself feel better about it all is like, hey, man, it’s one game. You know, they could have they could have lost 100 to zero. It’s still only going to count as one loss. And and I go back to what I what I said, you know, just even before they hit this three-game stretch, we said, “Listen, I’d love for them just to get one out of this uh this Packers, Colts, Chargers game, their stretch, if you will.” They got one of them. Obviously, this this past this tonight was ugly. It was as ugly as it gets. But you know what? It’s it’s a good point to it’s a good chance to look in the mirror here. You got a you got a divisional game coming up next week. Uh certainly it would feels like a must-win against the against a Cincinnati team that that whipped your butt not whipped your butt a couple weeks ago, but at least made your defense look silly a couple weeks ago, but um it’s it’s just one of those things where it’s it’s it’s like I I think I mentioned this one time on the show. It it’s like your golf game, man. You only talked about like, hey man, I’m I’m hitting the ball well off the tea, but I just can’t I can’t putt. It’s like the defense, you know what? They string two decent games together, but you know what? Now the offense decides to lay an egg tonight. And it’s like why why can’t they just consistently put it all together and and get on a roll type of uh that that sort of thing. And it’s it’s just you have to believe what Aaron Rogers has shown throughout the course of this season and and in his career for that matter that this hopefully won’t won’t snowball into a a bad run. I I see where Chris is coming from because it happened with Russell Wilson. It’s easy to have that whoa whoa whoa now like what you know we’ve seen this before sort of mentality but you know at least with it being one game you definitely put the headlights on but you have to believe that this cat there was too much there’s been too much good over this season to think that one game is is going to hopefully not lead to others and they’re going to get a chance to to rebound next week at home. There’s a a pair of games here that that I think they need to get here these next two weeks. But it’s I think the defense continues to trend in the right direction. I think that that that you know tonight was tonight really was it it was solid. They were getting after Justin Herbert uh that James Pierre also a silent you know a silent a guy who actually played some decent football tonight that stepped up and played uh obviously uh in in uh in an injury plugged secondary but um you just have to believe that there’s there’s enough good that outweighs the bad this won’t snowball. I’d like to think that and part of me wants to and part of me trying to stay realistic. This is a make orb break game in my eyes. Either you figure out what really needs to be fixed and you make those changes or you allow a loss like this to turn things in the other direction. Wayne’s world, let’s dive inside. What really do you want to highlight from this game tonight so that fans can see from your 15 years in the NFL that lens as to what a loss like this means for this Steelers team this season? Well, well, Ben set me up perfectly um on one part and that is James Pierre. Um it’s time to go ahead and make that move. Uh Darius Slay uh for whatever he may be able to bring. Uh it’s every other it’s something, you know, and and sometimes you get that point in your career. Uh, but it’s too much inconsistency as far as whether he’s going to be available to play or something is nagging him. And I’m not, and this has nothing to do with being his fault. It’s just how the world is spinning for him right now. And, uh, I saw with Pierre tonight, a physicality, a certain demeanor, uh, that that really set a more of a stiller way than, uh, I I think that Slay brings to the field. Now, as far as when you look at the team, is it about what you can correct? I don’t think that’s what it is. It’s how you can motivate and get these guys go. I mean, this is the team. It’s an ugly win. You know, we’re going to get 10 wins ugly. And it’s just a thing of trying to figure out how to motivate and get these guys to play at a level consistent enough that no matter who they play, they can win the game. tonight. It was just the offensive line took a step back uh as a whole tonight. Um because they were not m and some of that is like I said with Isaac being out over there at left guard. Uh we find out that Spencer Anderson really is a tackle. He’s not a guard. Um you know he he’s not he doesn’t have that kind of lower body. He doesn’t have that kind of physicality. Uh he’s a tackle. That’s why he plays so well when you put him at the tight end position. Uh, but it it seemed to be a step back in physicality on the offensive line, but I mean, we we can talk all day about this game. Offensively, it was that the trigger man tonight never found his game. Uh, whether it was uh that errant throws, uh, not seeing the full field, being a little rattled, being a little frustrated, he was off the night. And we have to accept that’s what we brought in as a quarterback. You know, a guy his energy level, you know, it’s like uh the Doug Fluty Frank Thomas commercial, you know, over 40 energy level go down, you know. So, we gota we got to figure out how, you know, next Sunday against the Bengals to get everything back up uh to have a better chance to win. I’m glad you mentioned Frank Thomas because the big hurt. That’s how I’m feeling right now. Big hurt. Okay. And of course, everyone staying very calm and no one’s overreacting in the comments section right now. Trade everyone except Watt, Highmith, Ramsay, Warren, and Boswell. Well, you’re not left with a ton of guys. Everyone remain calm. Remain calm, Chris. Okay. Oh, boy. But I I do think remain calm is what people have to I It’s funny. I I would didn’t get to be on the squad show last Sunday or or this Wednesday uh due to schedule conflicts, but like I was saying this in my head after the Colts win. I’m like this is a really good win. This is a really good win against a good football team. They outplayed them, out coached them. They did everything they were supposed to do. But like athletes always tell you, do not get too high with your highs. Do not get too lows with your lows. And that’s where and that’s where I think the Steelers fandom does not do well because every time they win, Super Bowl, let’s go. Or or you’re the people that just don’t want the Steelers to win because they’re the weird ones that just want them to lose every game all the time because they prefer misery all the time. But those people don’t count as real fans. Um but then there’s the people who when the Steelers lose, they’re just like, “It’s over. Bottom of the division. Here we come. We’re this is the year we finally have the losing record.” It’s just like it’s every week. And I’m just like, “Guys, here, man.” Well, just a quick push back in a joking fashion, Chris. I’ve never heard a Steelers fan say bottom of the division because thankfully we have the Browns. And so, I’ve never really had that major concern of seller dwelling in the AFC. You are not as as much. You don’t get it as much as cuz I guess you’re just not tweeting as much about the Steelers as I Yeah, I try I try to get off I try to stay off the Twitter, you know? I I read your comments like I don’t want that, Chris. I’m going to just kind of back off a little bit. Do you know what was a lot watching this game? And Ben, I want to go to you because there has to be some sort of solution. Aaron Rodgers, we’ve talked about this before on the show. We knew what he was coming to Pittsburgh. You get to the playoffs. Still don’t really see this team as a Super Bowl contender. Win some games, get to the playoffs. But you look at Drake May, you look at Miami beating Buffalo. The NFL is a tough league. So week in week out, you just never know what’s going to happen. There’s been a lot of parody this season. The Steelers need that quarterback because Aaron today, tonight showed that age is catching up. We saw him, I feel like, earlier in the season, but now we’re we’re nine. We’re halfway through the season now. And I feel like tonight we saw that finally catching up a later start even though it was on the West Coast. You know, I I that’s just that’s kind of how I’m feeling. I don’t know if you’re in the same space, but quarterback play is got to be a focus in the upcoming draft for this team. Yeah. Yeah, I I you know what, one one one drive kind of stood out stood out to me that that I knew obviously well was the nail in the coffin obviously because the the uh the Chargers then scored the touchdown that that was the proverbial nail, but it was the the the last one after the that uh that Dicker missed the field goal and it and it hit and he dked it and then they started to get some rhythm going on offense and they still had to come back from they still had a pretty big deficit and they they’re running the ball well and they have second and manageable. Then for whatever reason the the the play calling or whatever they were calling just just went just south and and like why are we throwing a fade on fourth down and and and and not even just a fade on fourth down. Yeah. Right. But also here’s the thing Chris first down was in play. It wasn’t like they had to throw it to the end zone under any of those plays or you know obviously they they didn’t but like the first down was in play. you get the first down, you got a first and goal from likely the the four or in depending on where where you would have landed if you didn’t get in the end zone. That’s the one for me that I’m like what what are we doing at that point? I’d have just rather ran it, you know, two or three more times because they they they were getting some push there at least a little bit uh with with Jaylen Warren and it’s like it’s it’s stuff like that and and Aaron Rogers just just seemingly couldn’t couldn’t find that rhythm tonight. and and and when things like this happen, I always it always cracks me up and we’ve been talking a little bit about Steelers fans as a whole when when things when the offense isn’t going, it’s always the first thing that comes up is and even the broadcast was doing it was always the second receiver. It’s like, oh, the second they just had a second receiver here that this could really they could never really spread it. Chris Collins, you see, when they have to spread it out, it doesn’t really work for him. It’s like, no, like what doesn’t work for him, Chris, is is he’s not finding the open guy. And if we’re going to look at this as a whole, there’s been the open guy has been there. He just he’s either overthrown it today, he just doesn’t have it today. He he just didn’t. And and it’s whether that’s okay or not, we’re going to find out here as the season progresses, but it wasn’t okay tonight. And and that’s the reason that they lost. It just it just is. And and so they they have to just take a deep breath, get back, they get to come back home here. You’re back in the kitchen in the AFC North with the with Cincinnati coming to town. But it it just the offense just it just couldn’t find a rhythm tonight and and and just Aaron Rogers had a bad game. He had a bad game. It happens. It happens. Let’s just hopefully it just doesn’t continue to happen. And and on that that Medaf fade play on fourth down in the end zone again like the drawing up play in the middle part of the field. They had like a good concept. It looked like Pat Frymouth cooked his man to the inside and if he hits him, Frymouth catches the ball, at least gets that first down you were talking about, maybe gets into the end zone. So again, just like there were plays to be made that were either not looked at or overthrown. And it’s just that kind of stuff you don’t expect from Aaron Rogers. And you know, hey, you know, if if he lays you if this is his one egg that he lays you, fine. But you cannot have this continue. Um I I know a lot of people were saying put N Rudolph in there. you don’t do that th this early. But I do think it gets to a point where is if this if this continues for a few weeks, like if he does this against a bad Bengals defense and then against the Bears, then you start to look like, all right, we might need to turn it up because I do think you’re seeing the defense start to figure things out right now. And to your point, Wayne, I I was pointing this out during the game. James Pierre right now with uh after tonight he has six breakups on like I think 11 targets on this season. Like he you are more likely to throw the throw a pass his way that he gets his hands on than he is to allow a catch which is crazy considering James Pierre’s history with the Steelers. So um maybe they start playing him a bit more. they might need some more help anyways because he it’s him, uh, Porter and Ramsay and Eckles right now that are your only guys that are even listed as cornerback right now. And Cory Trice, I don’t know when that guy’s ever going to get healthy. Um, so I just I look at I look at that and I say like, man, there’s a path for this defense to still play at a high level to get what you expected them to be. I think we lost Chris. So, we’ll take a quick break. Chris is talking about breakups from James Pierre and then he went ahead and got broken up with some Wi-Fi connection. So, very very on brand there, Chris. We’ll take a quick break. When we come back, we’ll talk more about the Steelers Chargers defeat for the Steelers 25-10. We’ll also look ahead to that Bengals matchup at Acasher Stadium next Sunday. That’s next right here on the Lockdown Steelers Squad Show. If you’re a business owner, here’s the truth. SAS promised to make work easier, but now the average company is buried by hundreds of apps that slow down your teams and simply don’t work together. That’s not SAS. That’s sad. Software as a disservice. That’s why you need Ripley. Ripling is the unified platform for global HR, payroll, IT, and finance all in one place. 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Hope you’re recovering from that 25-10 loss by the Steelers on the West Coast to the Chargers. Hey, give the Chargers credit. We’ve been doing that all night on this show. They played well. They played a really great football game. Justin Herbert was pressured, but he hung tough the entire night, the Chargers defense looks stout as well. Wayne, I want to start with you and go back to the defense. It seems like after a game like this, as the defense continues to slowly get better, even though they’re still kind of banged up after a night like this, you don’t really know where that offense is heading. I really feel like the defense is going to have to continue to get better and be the anchor if the Steelers want any chance of getting through a really tough stretch the rest of the way here. And wasn’t that the plan from the beginning of the season that the defense was going to carry this team wherever it went, however many wins, however deep it could go into the playoffs, it was going to be about the defense. I I think the really the only thing I saw tonight that has become an issue to me with the defense, uh we can’t seem to cover the little seam route underneath. It kills us in multiple games. Uh whoever’s guarding in that slot position. And it’s not just the the guy that’s in the coverage, it’s also the coverage itself. It’s not moving. Uh they’re vacating areas and not getting back into areas uh and and those kind of situations. But defensively, they seem to be on found something with Ramsay at safety. Uh the the trade with Duger being coming over look like it’s going to pay some dividends. And the big part of the defense that is supposed to dominate is coming around. We’re starting to see Highmith and and Watt and Herbick and these guys Peyton Wilson starting to make plays uh big plays in coverage in the run game. Patrick Queen once again uh you know he had a couple little miscues there but he had about 12 14 tackles. He was in the mix. It was just a good game I thought defensively. Um and the thing that they’re going to have to accept as Chris I think or Ben said when we started is the turnover factor. We just going to have to hope you know and it’s not like they can magically just snap their fingers. But with this kind of offense that’s really kind of just built uh to run play action and and you know we haven’t found the consistent pass game deep down the field. It needs those short fields but the defense it seems to be going the way or at least becoming slowly what we thought it could be. Steelers with six turnovers last week. I remember saying, “Hey, save some for the save some for the rest of the season. No turnovers tonight. Joey Porter should have had an interception. I’m not sure at his skill level, his position, how he didn’t pick that one off. Beyond me, it’s been a a weird season for for Joey Porter Jr., but the turnovers are certainly one thing. You look at halftime, what did Mike Tomlin say? He said they took advantage of the turnovers and the Steelers didn’t. Chris, is that a focus for this team moving forward? Is it the turnover situation that could help this Steelers team steal some victories uh in situations where hey, this was not It was It was a blowout definitely in the second half, but you create some turnovers. It could have been a whole different game. I didn’t think the Chargers necessarily blew things out of the water. The Steelers just were Yeah, they didn’t underwhelming. Yeah, I think that this was this was more so about what the Steelers left out on the field than the Chargers blowing anything out of the water. Um, you know, I I think there’s a misnomer about the turnover conversation. Like a lot of people are saying like, “Oh, this is a this is a defense where if they where they they just all they go for is turnovers and that’s why they’re bad at these other things.” It’s it’s not an eitheror situation. You’re playing football in a way to limit certain things, to take away certain things, and then in those moments when you’re taking away certain things, you create opportunities where, hey, this is a turnover, you know, opportunity for us in this situation. And especially early on and most of the game really the the secondary was in place so many times la last you know this this this night you look at how they were they were take there was times Justin Herbert had time in the pocket or was like buy time after the pressure got you know forced him out of the pocket and he couldn’t find guys because they were being sticky in coverage and that comes from good communication and I think that’s something that you’re seeing more consistently with this defense and if they can keep that up that’s what this defense needs to play at a high level but they also need to not be living on the field. The Steelers came into this game one of the worst time of possession teams in football. Um, right now they ran they ranked 30th coming into tonight. They averaged on on average they average about 27 and a half minutes of time of possession and uh they finished tonight with 22. And like you can’t you can’t play that way. You have to be able to protect the football. Two of 11 on third downs is atrocious. Um, you have to be able to protect the football, push the football, and then then all of a sudden later in the game, Justin Herbert has to force more passes that maybe you do get an interception on. Maybe your guys do get because again, the pressure worked. Like I think the the defensive plan worked. Benton had had another sack. TJ Watt had another sack. Uh, six in his he has he has six out of his last seven games he’s had a sack. Uh, Nick Herby got a sack. Alex Heismith, another two sack game backto-back for him. Um, so I I I look at this and I this is why another reason why I’m saying like, hey, I don’t think it’s the plan that’s the problem right now. It’s it’s hey, Aaron Rogers needs to take what’s right there. And if you and you know, you get your you get the Joey Porter interception that’s thrown right to him. You have those opportunities that are very doable and then all of a sudden this team does win a game like this. And again, because this is why I say don’t let don’t get too highs with the highs. Don’t get too lows with the lows. I I’ve said all season this is not a Super Bowl team. This is a team that makes it to the playoffs. maybe get if they get the right match up in the first round, they win that game and then they have a chance to steal one in the second round. But this was always a team that was going to be up and down throughout the season. You need to ride that roller coaster smartly and not be going crazy week after week. And I know I know for some people it’s impossible, but that’s what it is. Are you guys blind? We need a wide receiver, too. Well, I I am, but I wear glasses, as you can tell, so that helps me see. And so I feel like I I do have the vision to notice what’s out there. Calvin Austin wasn’t great tonight. And we talked about this a little bit, gentlemen. But Ben, I I don’t really think a wide receiver two changes much offensively. I I don’t think it ele if Aaron Rogers is going to play like that, it doesn’t matter. You throw Will Howard out there, throw Mason Rudolph out there, I’m not sure that makes a difference. I think you’ve got great pieces. I like the tight end package. You’ve got enough for what this team is. I think there are other areas of focus that are more important right now than a finding a a true second wide second wide receiver. We’re past that point. People People got to get that in their heads and they won’t and they won’t. But like it’s we’re past that point of like, well, we got to get a wide receiver, too. Like no, like like this is we’re we’re we’re past that point. We just so far past that point. and and like you got to think about the the the guys we have on this team that that that are that are making plays out there that that quite frankly just didn’t get a chance to to to make plays to tonight. I mean the I remember on Wednesday’s show I think one of the bigger bigger points I came up with for for a keys to the game from my perspective was hey the Steelers have to get off the field on third downs because the Chargers are are uh are converting third downs at a at a higher rate than anybody in the NFL. on defense did little little did I know it was the offense’s uh efficiency on third down that would be the problem. I mean they didn’t complete a third down or convert a third down till well into the second half really well when the game was almost out of out of reach and it’s like that you can’t you can’t do that. You you just simply can’t do that when when you’re in a game like this against a good football team like the Los Angeles Chargers who are likely a playoff team. you have to convert on third down and it’s and then some of it was just self-inflicted wounds like you get the I think about the the penalties. There was a there was a a penalty on a I think it was um was it Falanu on a second and one and it bumped them back on the holding that that that kind of set that drive that kind of you know got it off uh off a bit and that’s what that’s when and Rogers obviously went and uh kind of threw that one the high to John Smith and and ultimately wasn’t a catch. So it’s it it’s stuff like that. I mean, you you just have to do the little things correctly. Just execute like a professional when it when it comes down to it. And I just think the and people are going to overreact when it comes to to the offense and and people I feel like love to have an opinion on the Steelers offense. I mean, it was moving. It was fine, you know, these last few week all season long. It just it just it hit a bump in the road here today and it it just a bump in the road. You got you got a Cincinnati team. You you you know, Grant, you lost a couple weeks ago, but you lit them up. you you lit him up offensively. Aaron Rogers had one of his better games of the season, you know, passing wise against against Cincinnati the other day. We might minus a couple of the interceptions. So, it’s just about kind of resetting, coming back with a hunger, knowing you have to get this next win and and getting the job done. And and I think you have to think also going into this next game, you know, the def how the defense played against Cincinnati was was was poor and and now that they’re trending in the right direction, get a chance to rectify that mistake that that happened on Thursday night football at home. Uh you you just you just trust in the process. Like Chris said, it’s a roller coaster. Don’t get too high, don’t get too low. And uh we’ll see what happens in the kitchen in AMC North football Sunday. Bengals off this week. So Wayne, when you look at that matchup Sunday in Pittsburgh between the Steelers and the Bengals, both teams having played one another already, what’s the focus for the Steelers this week at practice? Easy to focus for that game. It’s a division game and you’re just coming off a loss where you had a lot of opportunities to to take this game down deeper and try to win at the end against the Chargers and that didn’t happen. So, the offense has a lot of motivation already. Um, as they go into this game for the Bengals, it’s at home. You get the opportunity uh to rectify something you felt like you should have done the first time around against a team uh that you you play all the time. So, I think the team will be focused for this game. I expect to hear Renegade Sunday at Acers Stadium. Can count on that. Chris, when you walk into Acer Stadium Sunday, what do you hope to see in that matchup that we did not see tonight against the Chargers? Oh, for one, competent quarterback play. Uh he’s like, you know, again, like I I don’t think that the Chargers Okay. So, so, so if that’s in mind, like if Aaron starts a game off like that, what kind of leash do you do you give Aaron before you maybe turn to Mason Rudolph and say, “Hey, you know what? Let’s try this out.” It’s always tricky because you pull an Aaron Rodgers and a Hall of Fame all-time quarterback, you better have instant results after you pull him and Mason Rudolph comes in and is how Mason Rudolph is about 80% of his career. You’re you’re asking to blow things up. And and I think that’s the thing here is that some people want things blown up. Some people want the Steelers to just fall into depravity so they can they can point and laugh at Mike Tomlin, which I think is the root of a lot of problems in the fan base right now. Um, but I I look at this and I say that I say like look, Aaron Rogers, you give him time to work through things. If it gets to the point where his phys his physical skills are completely gone, fine. But I think it’s also important to know like look, there were times Ben Rothosberger had these games in his prime like where he would just inexplicably throw five interceptions right to the other team and people would just be like, “Oh, it’s okay. It’s Big Ben.” And it’s like guys, these things happen and you and you kind of ride the wave with these. Just a little bit ago, people were saying, Aaron Rogers, man, what a get for the Steelers. He’s not dead. He’s He’s this. He’s that. He had a clunker. You got to come back. You got to give him time to work and you got to give him You got to keep scheming up opportunities for your guys to get open. Again, I thought I know a lot of people are saying you need a wide receiver, too. Wide receiver twos would have been open just like Pat Frymouth was, just like Calvin Austin was, just like Darnell Washington was. And I’m sure the more when I look back on tape, I’m be like, “Oh man, there was a lot lot to be had here.” I don’t think scheme was the problem tonight. But sometimes you have clunkers. And I also think it’s funny that Steelers fans think that they’re the only ones that go through these things. The Bills just got ab absolutely dogged by a bad Dolphins team. And I mean just destroyed. And I like and like if the the Steelers had that kind of game with an MVP quarterback of the year, they’re supposed to be the superstar Steelers, you know, people be losing their minds. And here they are losing their minds about this game. I think this was a a reasonable loss to a good chargers team where your quarterback played abysmally. Now you need what you need to do is you need to get ready next week. Have have a good game plan. Biggest thing against the Bengals, take away Chase and Higgins or at least limit them in the way that you did not do in the first game. And I think the way they’ve played in the few games since then, especially the Colts in this game, it’s a little more optimistic that they could have a plan in place that won’t let Joe Flacker rip them apart. But we got to see them actually do it. And that’ll be the biggest question going into that matchup next Sunday against the Bengals. We will talk about that when we get to the final quarter here on the Lockdown Steelers squad show. That’s next. Stay with us. The NBA is back and there’s no better place to get in on the action than FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you missed the start of the game or just want to ride the hot hand, FanDuel has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comebacks. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. It keeps every game exciting, especially when your team’s making that late push. Right now, FanDuel is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins. So, head to fanduel.com to sign up and play your game with FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Fourth quarter of this locked on Steelers squad show on a Sunday night following the Steelers 25-10 loss to the Chargers on the West Coast. He’s Ben Boick. He’s Christopher Carter. He’s Wayne Gandandy. I’m Tyler Feld. Thanks for spending a late Sunday night with all of us as we try to figure out what went wrong with Pittsburgh in this one. It was not fun to watch, but there were some pockets of, okay, this this team still has something. And Chris started to talk about this at the end of the third quarter there before we went to break. But yeah, the big question is how do you stop that talented duo at wide receiver in Cincinnati? Wayne, if you look at that last time, not too long ago, it was an absolute meat carving session. like I was at a Texas barbecue joint watching it happen right in front of me. Do the Steelers have enough healthy pieces in place to do a better job of stopping those guys the second time around? Well, one thing I want to chime in on uh that you and Chris were just discussing, once you pull Aaron Rodgers out, that’s it. So, all you out there that want him, he won’t go back in. you might as well pull the U-Haul up and just tell him to leave town. This this not going to be one of those, okay, the the the next guy in, he has a bad half. Hey, Aaron, let’s go back in the game. You brought him in for a specific mission, the mission is not done. And whenever you take him out, that will be it. So, whatever you’re voting for, just remind yourself of that when you go to cast your vote. This is not one of those young things where you get to play around. This is a guy who came here really in his mind for his last year to see what he could do with this team. Uh and if you want to go in the next direction, he’s not going to come back. You could watch that today with the Giants and Russell uh Wilson. Uh I think he threw the game because once you pulled him out, you might as well send him away. I don’t know why they put him in the game. But back to your question against the Bengals, I think a lot of times those two receivers are already dangerous. And I think what really caught the Steelers, they didn’t know how Joe Flacco was going to use him, which is crazy. And now, no, not that he can’t. Yeah. But how he was going to target him. I get I get what you’re saying. I get what you’re saying. So now we have that. You understand who he likes, what he favors. you got game tape of him using that system. So, I think it’ll be a little more easier to scheme. And as I said, uh after last week, it seems that the Steelers have recognized that they can’t just play off of talent. It’s going to have to be a mixture of talent and scheme. And I definitely love the way I think Joe Flacco is going to face a more aggressive rush attack. Guys are going to get after him a little more than the last time he saw this Steeler defense. And Chris, it seems like the defensive line has picked it up a little bit. Yeah, they have. I wrote about this about Keanu Bettton in the post Gazette uh this weekend, but I mean Keanu Bettton is playing really well. And if Keanu Benton’s playing well and Cam Hayward still Cam Hayward and and Derek Harmon, I think is playing well, you have a defensive front that that’s making a difference. And I know some people are out there like, oh, I saw people making the joke, where was TJ Watt in this game? TJ Watt was getting pressure. TJ Watt was getting sacks. Uh again, they sacked getting held. getting held. I mean, I mean, holy cow. Seems like every play. It’s every play. And I I don’t want to get too I don’t want to get too into it, but I’m like, where’s the flag? It’s right there. It’s It’s And it’s so funny because it’s like, you know, coaches will go to other teams and go to the reference and say, “Hey, watch out for Joey Porter Jr. He likes to hold.” And it’s like I I feel like Mike Tommen should be just be, “Hey, just letting you know they’re going to hold 90 every play.” And it just seem but they don’t seem to care. And I guarantee you the Steelers do they do like point that out because they do, you know, they do talk the ref. But to the point about the pressure, two sacks from Alex Highmith. So you got two, three, four, five. You had five sacks in this game. That that’s a good game of pressure against Justin her against Justin Herbert who is a very athletic quarterback who’s good at buying time, get escaping. Um, and you know, I just I look at that and I say like, man, like there there is a path for this team to play the way that it wants to play. And I think that the defense for the most part did until the offense kind of just kept putting them in in bad situations. This is this is a team like I know like everyone’s looking for, you know, an answer. So like, you know, how do they turn things around? Turn things around by just making the plays right that are right in front of you. And sometimes it’s that simple. It doesn’t feel good saying that. It doesn’t doesn’t change the fact that they got their butts kicked tonight. Uh but sometimes that’s just what it is and they need to go out and do it. Um, and so, uh, next week against the Chargers, or not Chargers, Chargers, excuse me, against the Bengals, um, you know, I think there were a lot of things the Bengals did that weren’t that complex. So, you know, there was a couple passes like the T. Higgins, you know, deep ball over Jaylen Ramsey. That’s one thing. But there were like, you know, slants and shallow crosses and motions that the Bengals did that the Steelers just didn’t react well to. But the last two weeks they’ve had good offenses with good with good with have been playing really well and using those types of concepts to get guys open and they have taken those away. That’s a good sign. And if they could do that again next week, it’ll help them res reset. I think the Bengals defense is a a good unit for Aaron Rogers to try to figure out, you know, what he whatever he got wrong in this game for him to find his comfort zone. Um, but the Steelers, they need to get going. I also think if the Steelers don’t have those early turnovers, they can lean more on the run game because Jaylen Warren finished the game averaging five yards a pop. Uh neither of the the or neither of the the Chargers running backs averaged four yards a pop in this game. So, I I think that there there is definitely a path for this team to win games and win games like this one. Um but sometimes you have bad nights, you got to you got to, you know, kind of study what you did wrong, recover real quick, and get back out there. There’s no doubt. I believe Aaron Rogers can sit in the film room and practice and work through the mistakes he made in this game tonight. My concern surrounds, look, you get older, you slow down a little bit. The game doesn’t slow down. It’s still fast as heck. And so that’s maybe where my concern is. I’m interested to see how Aaron Rodgers responds against the Bengals. Ben, on Wednesday this past week, you picked the Chargers to win, right? I did. You’re on a heater. How many in a row is that? You’re on a heater. Meanwhile, I’m like, it’s going to be a shootout. There’s going to be 70 combined points. I’m laughing the whole game, but what is it about you going into these games that allows you to say, “Hey, this is what I’m sorry. This is what’s going to happen.” You know, I I I this one has an asterisk, though, because I I did say it was going to be be a bit closer, and it wasn’t. You know, I I said I think my my final was 3331. No need to discredit. No need. You picked it. No need to discredit with the score. Yeah, it’s fair. You know, I’m just hold I’m just making sure we’re holding ourselves accountable. You know, that’s what we’ve been talking about here. But yeah, it’s like it’s just you I have sort of a feel for it, man. And I think when it with this Cincinnati You do, like with this Cincinnati game, I don’t brush it at all. You said it’s so casual. You said it’s so casual. I just have a feel for this. Yeah. But but going into the Cincinnati game, like like these guys have been saying, like speaking of having a feel for it, you have a feel that the Steelers are going to learn from their mistakes against that that they had the last time they played the the Bengals. I mean, you want to look at it simply. I mean, think about the obviously there’s a lot of differences, but they turn the ball over twice and they let Chase Brown run all over him. So, if the Steelers stop the run and don’t turn the ball over against Cincinnati, they’re probably going to be in a good position to win against uh on Sunday at home. So, it’s it’s it’s one of it’s it’s that’s just the simple, you know, kind of like onedimensional way to look at things. There’s obviously a lot more that goes into it, but but man, it’s it’s just we have a real opportunity here. I feel like this is a tough three-game stretcher. You win one out of the three and now you have a you have Cincinnati coming to town and then you go to go and play at Chicago. And I understand Chicago is doing well, but they’re winning games in weird ways. And I I don’t know. I just I just I just think it’s it’s not fluky, but it just it just is what it is with the Bears. And and so it this is a good chance to to get right, if you will. If you could get backtoback wins here, get yourself up, get yourself a little cushion before you get another tough stretch, it’d be a big deal. And but it starts on Sunday against Cincinnati. And and they’re going to have to get after Joe Flacco. And Chris mentioned it, too. I do believe this pass rush is is going to get after Flaco a little bit more because they did do a good job against Justin Herbert. was the one of the bigger things I was worried about tonight with with uh with the defense was man like Justin Herbert knows how to move around and and even if they do get pressure on him. I feel like he’s he’s going to get he’s going to slide enough to to continue to make plays and even when he did it was it was uh it was it was good defense. So, you know, Joe Flacco is not going to be able to slide around the pocket like Justin Herbert did tonight or in general. So, especially at this stage of the game. So, it it’ll be interesting to see if they could they could turn it up at home. Wayne, final thoughts on this 25-10 loss on Sunday Night Football. It’s just a tough loss. Uh you kind of thought about this game. You felt like the Chargers were going to win this game in some kind of form of fashion when you looked at the schedule. Uh the Steelers as we as I predicted, I think they’re 10 and 17 uh on the season and they’re still on pace to be a 10 and 17. Now, where that puts them in the playoffs, that’s what the roster says to me, that they can win 10 games and they already are halfway there. So, um I don’t know does it count how many when they win the games or this they end up with the win. So, right now it’s just a good opportunity. You got some teams that you probably feel like you can play with in the Bengals and the Bears. Uh, and that’s and I feel like this team, especially Aaron Rodgers, uh, this this sets up for an Aaron Rogers moment, uh, you know, to bounce back from a game. Not that he’s going to continue it the whole season, but just you feel like he’s just has that kind of attitude towards the sport that he wants to remind you of of how good he is and and next week is a great opportunity against a soft defense. Chris, when you lay down in bed tonight, put your head on the pillow, pull over the sheets, what will keep you up with nightmares from this game? And then what will allow you to maybe finally fall asleep? Nothing. I have no problem sleeping out the Steelers losses. Let me tell you the as soon as Christopher Carter’s locked on Steelers podcast is is is posted and up on our YouTube and our Chris is turns the computer off, he jumps into bed. Sometimes I don’t even make it to bed. Sometimes I fall asleep at this desk after being like click. Ah, good. And it’s and it’s over. I my my wife will tell you I I fall asleep standing up. I I will fall asleep with the lights on. I will fall asleep. I I will fall asleep with who let the dogs out blaring in my ear. If Chris knows his his work is done, he will go to sleep. That trust me, that ain’t no problem, man. I regret phrasing the question that way. Chris, any any final thoughts on this game? Ben, go ahead and then we’ll we’ll send it back. No, no, let Chris go. Yeah, let Chris go. Okay. Okay. No, in all seriousness, I I think the big thing is is that the Steelers are finding answers on defense. They’re switching things around, and that’s a good sign. And again, clearly there’s answers on offense. The run game did work at at at times. They just had critical failures at points that you expect your quarterback to be able to make plays. I I expect Aaron Rogers to bounce back. He’s been a competitor all his all his career. He finds a way to fight back. And he’s he has clunkers. I think it’s important to remember the last two times he’s had he’s played complete seasons, he’s had losing seasons. So, he’s had his clunkers in the past, but for the most part this season, he has seen what other teams are trying to do. He’s counted them well. I think one thing Mike Tomman, he credited Jesse Mer, the the the Chargers defensive coordinator with a good job. I think he did a good job of rattling Aaron Rogers. Aaron Rogers is a studious football player. He’s a studious quarterback. He’s going to be able to go in the film room, see what the Chargers did to counter him, and then kind of add that to his notes. And then I expect him to at least mentally make those adjustments going going into next week uh to see if if the Chargers, excuse me, if the Bengals are able to uh to try to rep if they try to replicate what the Chargers did. But the Bengals do not have the talent on defense to do that in my opinion. And this this should be a a good week to get things right on on offense. And if the defense can show, hey, that that thing on Thursday night a few weeks ago, that was just a once over, that’s not going to happen again. I think that that can be the stuff that kind of resets the course, you’ll get to what, six and four. Um, and you know, I know that everyone’s saying that the Ravens are about to march back into it. Listen, I I said all along the Ravens are going to be back in the hunt, but the RA the Ravens do have a few things in their way that I don’t think the people anticipated being a problem. One, they still have both their games against the Steelers. If the Steelers split that, I think that’s that’s one way to slow them down. But those late games against the Packers and the Patriots are two tough games that I think people underestimated early on in the season. If the Steelers can get to 10 wins like Wayne said saying and they split with the with the Ravens and they’re able to hold out on some tiebreakers, they could still win the division in doing that. I still think the Steelers can can get there, but they obviously they’ve got to turn it on. They’ve got to play some more complimentary football. Uh that’s something we haven’t seen too often this year. Ben. Yeah. Just quickly, Tyler, I mean, I when it comes down to you talked about going to bed, what’s when I’m going to go to bed tonight and I’m going to fall asleep nice and easily because people are quick to text me about this Steelers loss tonight. They were even quicker to text after Indiana won beat Penn State on Saturday. But and I know you got Right. But here’s the thing. No, and you’re in the same boat here, brother. No one’s texting you about the Upper Slair Panthers beating the Whifffield semifinals. And no one texts me about the Still Valley Ironman being in the Whipfield 2A semifinals. That’s what I’m gonna go to bed nice tonight because I know the Ironmen get a chance to go play down in Acer yet again. And you know what? That’s all we need, baby. That is all we need. What a beautiful way to end this show here tonight. Here we go. Panthers. Okay. Panther land. Okay. That’s all that matters. Still valid a shout out. Uh up for St. Clair. Dang it. Don’t twist. Don’t twist my words. You clipped it. You dogged. You dogged. Let’s Let’s say so long here. It It’s been a long show. It’s been a long show. It was a long game to watch. And I do feel like the Steelers still have a shot. And that’s where we end this tonight. The Steelers still having a shot. A reminder, you can listen to the audio of tonight’s show on the Lockdown Steelers podcast channel wherever and however you podcast. Steelers Nation, a reminder, friendly reminder, like, subscribe, that helps us out. A reminder to check out the Lockdown Steelers daily podcast Monday through Friday with the one and the only Christopher Carter, who I guess sleeps at his desk. So, just know that that’s where he’s at. He he does everything right where he’s sitting. And with that in mind, that’ll do it for this postgame edition of the lockedown Steelers squad show. The Steelers fall to the Chargers on Sunday Night Football 25-10 for Wayne Gandandy, Christopher Carter, and Ben Bobic. I’m Tyler Feldman saying good night. And still, here we go. We’ll see you it’s Wednesday night for some more Steelers Talk on the Lockdown Steelers Squad Show.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense did enough under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football in Los Angeles. Facing Justin Herbert and the high-powered Chargers offense, the Steelers defense battled all night long at SoFi Stadium, pressuring the quarterback, forcing key stops and keeping Pittsburgh in the game. Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t find its rhythm, and costly mistakes kept the Black and Yellow from pulling off the primetime win.

On The Locked On Steelers Squad Show, host Tyler Feldman is joined by Christopher Carter, Wayne Gandy and Ben Bobick to break down how the defense held strong, where the offense fell short, and what this performance means as the Steelers head into the second half of the season. Tune in for in-depth analysis, player takeaways, and reactions from another emotional Sunday night matchup on the West Coast.

#Steelers #HereWeGo #NFL #SteelersNation #Chargers #LockedOnSteelers #SoFiStadium #SundayNightFootball

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