Pittsburgh
Steelers
12-4
31
FINAL
28
Los Angeles
Chargers
5-11
AI Recap
AI RECAPThe Pittsburgh Steelers narrowly defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 31-28 in a thrilling Week 18 showdown that had playoff implications on the line. With both teams fighting for positioning, every play mattered, but it was the Steelers who walked away with the critical victory.
Drew Allar led the Steelers' offense with an efficient passing performance, throwing for one touchdown, while Jaylen Warren added to the ground game with 42 rushing yards. However, it was Tee Higgins of the Chargers who stole the spotlight with a remarkable 188 receiving yards, showcasing his explosive capabilities and keeping Los Angeles in the game until the very end. Justin Herbert also had a strong outing, racking up 369 passing yards, but ultimately fell short.
On the defensive side, the Steelers made key plays that turned the tide in their favor. Jalen Ramsey was a standout with eight total tackles, while Alex Highsmith’s 1.5 sacks applied pressure on Herbert throughout the game. The turning point came when Jamel Dean intercepted a critical pass late in the fourth quarter, sealing the win for Pittsburgh and ensuring their playoff aspirations remained alive.
Passing
| Player | Pos | ATT | CMP | CMP% | YDS | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Herbert | QB | 47 | 31 | 66% | 369 | 1 | 1 | 87.9 |
| Drew Allar | QB | 35 | 17 | 49% | 264 | 1 | 1 | 71.6 |
Rushing
| Player | Pos | ATT | YDS | YPC | YAC | TD | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaylen Warren | HB | 9 | 42 | 4.7 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 0 |
| Omarion Hampton | HB | 9 | 34 | 3.8 | 15 | 1 | 18 | 0 |
| Keaton Mitchell | HB | 14 | 22 | 1.6 | — | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Darnell Washington | TE | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 12 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| Jase McClellan | HB | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 13 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Eli Heidenreich | HB | 4 | 11 | 2.8 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Rico Dowdle | HB | 6 | 7 | 1.2 | 6 | 1 | 12 | 0 |
| Justin Herbert | QB | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | — | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Ladd McConkey | WR | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | — | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Pat Freiermuth | TE | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tre' Harris | WR | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Germie Bernard | WR | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tee Higgins | WR | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Drew Allar | QB | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving
| Player | Pos | REC | YDS | YPR | YAC | TD | LNG | DROP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tee Higgins | WR | 10 | 188 | 18.8 | 76 | 1 | 59 | 0 |
| Germie Bernard | WR | 5 | 112 | 22.4 | 67 | 1 | 70 | 1 |
| Ladd McConkey | WR | 11 | 91 | 8.3 | 32 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| Pat Freiermuth | TE | 4 | 73 | 18.3 | 21 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| Tre' Harris | WR | 3 | 55 | 18.3 | 9 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| Trey'Dez Green | TE | 6 | 30 | 5.0 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Michael Pittman | WR | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| Darnell Washington | TE | 2 | 28 | 14.0 | 17 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| DK Metcalf | WR | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | — | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| Eli Heidenreich | HB | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Oronde Gadsden | TE | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Roman Wilson | WR | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | — | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Defense
| Player | Pos | TKL | SACK | INT | FF | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamel Dean | CB | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Derwin James Jr | SS | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jalen Ramsey | FS | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Leonard Moore | CB | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| DeShon Elliott | SS | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quay Walker | WILL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Highsmith | REDG | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daiyan Henley | WILL | 5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Herbig | REDG | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Payton Wilson | MIKE | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Keyron Crawford | REDG | 1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daylen Everette | CB | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Akheem Mesidor | REDG | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Genesis Smith | SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Donte Jackson | FS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Tarheeb Still | CB | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Keeanu Benton | DT | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Teair Tart | DT | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Barrett | DT | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Rodriguez | MIKE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Elijah Molden | FS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Derrick Harmon | DT | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Will Echols | DT | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | Pos | FGM | FGA | XPM | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Boswell | K | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Cameron Dicker | K | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |

