The Steelers have a long history of memorable moments throughout the years, and during the 2025 season we are going to highlight those moments against each week's opponent.
This week, we feature games against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Steelers 24, Los Angeles Chargers 22
October 10, 2005
Qualcomm Stadium
There is something about Monday Night Football that brings out something special in the Steelers and that was the case on this night.
It came down to the wire, but the Steelers pulled out a win in the closing seconds to head back to Pittsburgh happy.
But the news wasn't all good. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger injured his knee at the end of the game, an injury that would sideline him the following week.
It could have been worse, though.
"The news on Ben is very good, but it's good that we have Tommy Maddox and Charlie Batch," said Coach Bill Cowher. "As of now, Charlie is the starter by default."
Before he was hurt, though, he managed to get the Steelers in field goal range. On the final drive of the game, down 22-21 after running back LaDainian Tomlinson put the Charges on top after a two-yard touchdown run, Roethlisberger set the stage.
A nine-yard completion to receiver Antwann Randle-El to the Chargers 29-yard line ended with a helmet to the knee for Roethlisberger.
"He laid it on the line," said receiver Hines Ward. "He's lying there hurt on the ground, and he said to me, 'At least we're in field goal range."'
Roethlisberger was taken off the field on a cart, replaced by quarterback Charlie Batch. A steady dose of running back Jerome Bettis gave kicker Jeff Reed a little more breathing room and he hit a 40-yard game-winning field goal with six seconds to play.
"I went to Charlie and said, 'Give it to me, look it all the way in, follow me as I go through, and I'll do the rest,'" said Bettis, who missed the previous three games with a calf injury.
Bettis finished the game with 17 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown.
"I feel great, I feel fresh," said Bettis.
Steelers 11, Los Angeles Chargers 10
November 16, 2008
Heinz Field (Now Acrisure Stadium)
In an odd game, the Steelers pulled out a win without scoring a touchdown, but it wasn't all field goals.
The Steelers defeated the Chargers, 11-10, thanks to three field goals by kicker Jeff Reed and a safety courtesy of linebacker James Harrison.
And it was another game that came right down to the wire for the Steelers.
The Chargers jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the only touchdown of the game when LaDainian Tomlinson scored on a three-yard run.
On a third-and-nine play, quarterback Philip Rivers was sacked in the end zone by linebacker James Harrison, forcing a fumble which tackle Marcus McNeil recovered in the end zone. Harrison then tackled him for a safety.
"We faced some adversity, some adverse situations throughout the game," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "I thought that this was just a great team effort. Defensively, of course, we made significant plays; particularly early on that kept us in the football game.
"James Harrison continues to make splash play after splash play for us. He is one of the main reasons that we were successful today. Offensively, to take the ball the length of the field at the end to provide us with the win was big-time stuff."
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed 31 of 41 passes for 308 yards, while receiver Hines Ward was on the receiving end of 11 of those passes for 124 yards. Running back Willie Parker returned to the lineup after missing the previous game with a shoulder injury and carried the ball 25 times for 115 yards.
After the Chargers took a 10-8 lead late in the game, Roethlisberger did his thing, engineering a comeback.
Roethlisberger hit Ward for 10 yards and then Parker took it up middle for four yards. Roethlisberger went right back to Ward for 15 yards to the Chargers 45-yard line. Completions to Ward, tight end Matt Spaeth and receiver Santonio Holmes gave the Steelers the ball at the 21-yard line.
It was all Parker from there, who on third-and-goal appeared to have a four-yard touchdown run, but it was nullified by a holding call. Reed came on and did his thing, connecting on a 32-yard game-winning field goal with 11 seconds to play.
Steelers 24, Los Angeles Chargers 17
October 13, 2019
Dignity Health Sports Park
In his first NFL start, quarterback Devlin 'Duck' Hodges wormed his way into the hearts of Steelers fans with his fearless performance in a 24-17 win.
Hodges, an undrafted rookie, completed 15 of 20 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown.
"Since I was five years old, since I threw my first touchdown pass, that's always something I've kind of dreamed about," said Hodges of his first career start. "It's been a bumpy road, especially the past couple of months. It's been wild to think about. I've always had belief in myself. I've had other people behind me, and it's just amazing."
It wasn't about the numbers, but the poise he showed, including on a bad snap from center Maurkice Pouncey on third-and-goal. Pouncey's errant snap bounced the wrong way, but Hodges was able to collect himself, pick up the ball, and throw an incompletion that allowed the Steelers to kick a field goal.
"He looked like Ben (Roethlisberger)," said Pouncey. "I told him, 'I appreciate you, man.' I was up there, talking trash, and he hurried-up snapped it. I was like, 'Oh crap.' But he did a hell of a job of getting that ball and throwing it out. I honestly thought in my head, 'That's Ben.' Ben would've done the same thing. It was awesome."
Hodges earned a game ball for the win and 'Duck' immediately became a fan favorite.
"We have a lot of confidence in him," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "We haven't been bashful about that. He has a lot of confidence in himself. I think that's what makes people gravitate to him. We're not getting over-excited. This is a guy that played good tonight, with very limited experience.
"We're thankful to get a win, and hopefully it will be a good learning experience for him and us, collectively, as we move forward."
Running back James Conner scored twice, once on a 12-yard run, the other a 26-yard pass from Hodges. Linebacker Devin Bush kicked off the scoring, though, with a nine-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
"Anytime the defense scores first…anytime the defense scores when I'm on the bench…that's big time," said Hodges. "That takes a little pressure off. As far as converting the third downs, I mean James Conner. Checking down the ball to him sometimes and a couple of other third downs. We just did the game plan we had planned and just executed it."
Steelers 20, Los Angeles Chargers 10
September 22, 2024
Acrisure Stadium
Heading into the game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Coach Mike Tomlin told his team it was going to be a fight with two undefeated teams going head-to-head.
He was right, but it was the Steelers that delivered the knockout punch in a 20-10 win at Acrisure Stadium, improving their record to 3-0 on the young season.
"We talked about it all week," said Tomlin. "We knew we were in for a fight. Styles make fights. They're assembled like we're assembled. We knew it was going to be a great game. They're playing great defense. We're playing great defense. We had to challenge our defense to out-perform theirs. I thought they did.
"We had a commitment to the run game. Obviously, they came in with the league's leading rusher and the No. 1 offense and our offense had to out-rush theirs, and we did, and that's why the game unfolded the way it did.
"I'm just appreciative of the efforts of the guys. It was a fight, though, man. These guys are obviously well-coached and a talented group. It didn't happen instantly. We had to stay in it. But that's life and definitely life in the NFL."
Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins came into the game as the NFL's leading rusher with 266 yards through two games. The defense stopped Dobbins, holding him to 44 yards on 15 carries, while overall the run game managed only 61 yards.
"We'd better respond that way," said Tomlin. "There's a nakedness in this business at this level. There's nowhere to hide.
"When you've got a challenge like that walking in your venue, you'd better fight. With the No. 1 rusher and rushing team coming into our building, let's be real clear, they've got to fight. They don't have a choice."
On the flip side, Najee Harris carried the ball 18 times for 70 yards, while the Steelers put up 114 yards on the ground.
"I just liked our general demeanor throughout," said Tomlin. "It wasn't fluid the whole way. But I didn't feel any blink or anybody running away from the challenge. I just felt guys leaning in on the challenge.
"Obviously, we're going to have to reproduce that as we move forward.
"It's good to be 3-0 as we sit here."
Much of the ground game for the Steelers came late in the game, nothing that came as a surprise to Tomlin.
"As I mentioned, styles make fights, and that's how these two teams and defenses are built," said Tomlin. "We didn't expect it to be easy sledding at any juncture, but we wanted to continue to pound the rock and hopefully break through, and it felt like we did there in the latter portions of the game."
Quarterback Justin Fields had a strong outing, completing 25 of 32 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown in the win. Fields connected with Calvin Austin III for a 55-yard touchdown after Austin turned on the afterburners for yards after catch.
Linebacker T.J. Watt was singing the praises of one of his fellow linebackers after the game, as Nick Herbig stepped up big with linebacker Alex Highsmith leaving the game with a groin injury. Herbig had two sacks for a loss of 15 yards, including a strip sack.
"I'm not surprised by the performance," said Watt. "He went out there and played with a lot of swag and confidence.
"That kid has supreme confidence in himself. You can't tell him anything. I respect the heck out of it. He's going to do everything that he possibly can to perform. He's going to ask every question. He's going to turn over every stone and just bust his tail.
"I respect the heck out of Nick, and I'm glad that he had the day that he did."
The defense as a whole was huge, shutting down the Chargers run game and not allowing them to find success in the air as well.
It was also a battle of two top defenses, something that was talked about leading into the week, with the Steelers defense wanting to be the best on the field on Sunday.
"We have a confident group," said Watt. "Obviously, we knew they were a top defense. We don't do a lot of talking, we just like to go out on the field and play and have fun, and I feel like we did that.
"It was two trains on the track, two top defenses coming in. We knew they love to run the ball. We love stopping the run."
