The Los Angeles Chargers are allowing pressures on a league-high 27.5 percent of their dropbacks, and that was before Joe Alt or Bobby Hart got hurt. Justin Herbert is one of the most-sacked QBs in the league this season, and now he will face the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I love the Pittsburgh Steelers in this one,” Jon Gruden said via Barstool Sports’ The Pro Football Show. “I just think the injury to Joe Alt at left tackle cripples this team. You can’t get hit as much as Herbert’s getting hit. The Steelers are gonna pepper him. They have too many good rushers.”
The Chargers’ nearly 12 pressures per game allowed will have to contend with the Steelers’ nearly 11 pressures generated per game, and just one week after they generated 20 pressures against Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts.
The best part? Pittsburgh should be able to get home with a four-man rush without having to use many blitz packages. In theory, that would prevent Herbert from getting rid of the ball quickly as other offenses have done to neutralize the Steelers’ pass rush.
Gruden likes the matchup for Pittsburgh’s defense the most, but that isn’t the only thing he’s pointing to for a Steelers victory on Sunday night.
“There’s gonna be more Steeler fans than you’ve ever seen in California,” Gruden said. “It’ll be like a road game for Herbert and [Jim] Harbaugh,” Gruden said. “I love Aaron Rodgers. He’s playing consistent and I think they got a huge win and some confidence last week pulverizing the Colts. I’m with the Steelers, man.”
The crowd advantage only further plays into the defense’s favor. It’s much easier to time the snap against a silent count, and T.J. Watt has proven elite at doing that in the past. The deck is stacked against the Chargers in this game.
Nobody is going to confuse this AFC matchup as one between the conference elites, but the three-loss teams are both heavily in the mix for playoff contention with a lot to prove. On paper, Pittsburgh has the upper hand in a lot of ways.