A crucial battle in the AFC takes place in the Week 10 Sunday Night Football matchup when the Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Los Angeles Chargers. Pittsburgh’s win over Indianapolis last week tightened the AFC leaving the Bolts just one game behind the conference leaders. The game kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET on November 9 from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA and will be televised on NBC.
Steelers at Chargers Preview
The Steelers came up with a strong defensive showing last week to upset the NFL best Colts, 27-20. It was a much-needed performance from a group that’s struggled most of the season. Four times in the previous seven games opponents surpassed the 30-point mark and the group was next to last in points allowed.
We’ll see if the Steelers can continue their strong play on defense. They remain near the bottom of the NFL rankings in yards per game allowed and surrender 24.4 points per game, 21st in the league. The Steelers have forced a lot of turnovers with a majority of them coming in two games. They’re second with 16 takeaways but 11 of them came in games against New England and last week against Indy.
- At 5-3 the Steelers are the only team in the AFC North with a winning record and a 2-game lead over Baltimore. They beat the Colts outright as a 3-point dog, improving to 4-2 against the NFL odds in their last six games.
- Despite Aaron Rodgers putting up decent numbers the offense is shaky. Rodgers completes 68.7 percent of his passes and has 17 TDs, but the Steelers rank 28th in total yards.
- The run game has been abysmal averaging just 83.3 yards/game and 3.8 yards/carry.
- With 5 sacks last week the Steelers are tied for 3rd in the NFL with 27.
What appeared to be a strength before the season started has now become an issue with two starting offensive linemen on the shelf. The club lost Rashawn Slater in training camp and Joe Alt saw his season end with an ankle injury last week. Behind Justin Herbert the offense has been good averaging the 5th most yards in the NFL and scoring 24 points a game.
The Bolts have won two straight and three of four coming in improving to 6-3, the second-best mark in the conference. They will rue losses to the Giants and Commanders when the offense faltered and scored a total of 28 points in those outings. Those setbacks came during a current stretch where the Chargers are 1-5 against the NFL point spread.
- Herbert is 2nd in the NFL with 2,390 passing yards and 18 TDs for the league’s 5th ranked pass offense.
- The Bolts have the best 3rd down rate in the NFL converting 49.2 percent of their plays.
- After having the NFL top ranked scoring defense last season the Chargers have dipped to 11th giving up 21.4 points/game.
- The Bolts are 4-2 SU and ATS in their last six games as a home favorite of 3+ points.
Steelers at Chargers Predictions
With LA’s banged up O line and the Steelers facing the No. 3 pass defense I can see both teams sticking to the ground game. And barring chunk plays and defensive scores the likelihood of the teams putting up a lot of points is slim, which is why backing the UNDER is a good bet.
Steelers at Chargers Betting Tips
- The Chargers are a 3-point favorite and -160 on the moneyline.
- Pittsburgh is 2-1 SU and ATS when getting points this season.
- The Steelers have allowed an average of 26.3 points in three road games, cashing the OVER twice.
- The total hit the board at 45.
- The Bolts have scored at least 24 points in each of their last four games going OVER the total in all of them.
Steelers at Chargers Head to Head and Key Stats
- It’s been an even series over the last six games with each team going 3-3 SU and ATS.
- Pittsburgh won the most recent contest, 20-10, last season at home holding Herbert to 125 yards passing and the Chargers to 166 total yards.
- The only other game played at SoFi Stadium resulted in a 41-37 LA victory in 2021 with Herbert throwing for 382 yards and three TDs.
- Rodgers will be Pittsburgh’s fourth different starting QB in as many meetings.
