PLAYER NOTES
–TE Vance McDonald injured his hip against Denver, AND did not practice Wednesday.
–TE Xavier Grimble, who entered the concussion protocol after the Denver game, went through a full practice Wednesday.
–OLB Bud Dupree suffered a pectoral injury against Denver and did not practice Wednesday.
–DE Stephon Tuitt, who missed the past two games with an elbow injury, practiced Wednesday on a limited basis.
–T Marcus Gilbert, who missed the past five games with a knee injury, did not practice Wednesday.
–S Morgan Burnett did not practice Wednesday due to a back injury.
–OL B.J. Finney has a pectoral injury and did not practice Wednesday.
–WR Eli Rogers practiced Wednesday for the first time all season. Rogers is on the physically unable to perform list due to a knee injury that he suffered in a playoff game against the Jaguars in January. The Steelers must decide within 21 days if they are going to activate him to the 53-man roster or keep him on PUP.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: WR Ryan Switzer was acquired just before the start of the regular season, but he has quickly ascended to an important role in the Steelers offense. Switzer played a season-high 52 offensive snaps against the Broncos on Sunday and caught six passes for 67 yards, also season highs. Rookie second-round pick James Washington was supposed to be the No. 3 receiver this season, but he’s disappointed. Washington has just eight receptions for 77 yards despite playing nearly half the offensive snaps this season.
GAME PLAN: The Steelers continue to pile up the yardage, but they have to cut down on their turnovers. In the past two games they have seven turnovers. If they cut down on the turnovers some of these games that are coming down to the wire wouldn’t be so close. The Steelers outgained the Broncos by almost 200 yards, but they lost, 24-17. The Chargers are fourth in the NFL in scoring defense and ninth in total defense so the Steelers will have to be on their details to score this week. Ben Roethlisberger is second in the league in passing yards, but he also has the second-most interceptions in the league. If he can play mistake-free against the Chargers the Steelers will have a great chance to win. But if the turnovers continue the Steelers will find themselves in another close game.
The Steelers are showing some weakness against the run, and they’ll have to correct that this week because the Chargers are one of the best running teams in the NFL. They average 5.0 yards per carry and 129 rushing yards per game. The Steelers have given up an average of 151 rushing yards in the past two games and allowed Phillip Lindsay of the Broncos to rush for over 100 yards on Sunday. Lindsay became the first back to go over 100 against the Steelers this season. Chargers running back Melvin Gordon is injured and won’t play in this game, but Lindsay and others have proven that you don’t need a big-name running back to have success against the Steelers.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Steelers CB Joe Haden vs. Chargers QB Philip Rivers. Haden has been the Steelers’ best cornerback this season, but he’s coming off a game in which Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders caught seven passes for 86 yards against him, including a 38-yard pass that set up the tying score in the third quarter. Rivers isn’t lacking in skilled receivers and is coming off an epic performance against the Cardinals when he completed 28 of 29 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns. Haden has been really good for the Steelers this season, and he’ll have to bounce back with a big game against Rivers and the Chargers.
–Steelers RB James Conner vs. Chargers LB Jatavis Brown. Conner only has 90 combined rushing yards in the past two games and he had a crucial fumble against the Broncos that prevented the Steelers from winning the game. Conner had four consecutive 100-yard running games during the Steelers’ six-game winning streak, but he hasn’t had one in the past three games. Getting back on track against the Chargers would help boost Conner’s confidence. Brown is the Chargers’ second-leading tackler and a big part of their run defense.
