DEVIN BUSH
Inside Linebacker
CARSON, Ca. – It's always preferable for the visiting team to get off to a quick start on the road, and it's super preferable to get off quickly when your team is starting a rookie quarterback. The Steelers jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the game's first 10 minutes, and those touchdowns had Devin Bush's fingerprints all over them. Literally.
The first of those came on an incomplete lateral from Philip Rivers to Melvin Gordon, and with the ball sitting on the grass Bush alertly scooped it up and ran 9 yards into the end zone for the score. The second touchdown was set up when Tyson Alualu batted a Rivers pass at the line of scrimmage, and Bush intercepted the carom to give the offense possession at the Chargers 40-yard line. That drive ended with a 12-yard run by James Conner for a 14-0 lead. Bush, who added seven tackles and a pass defensed is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.
Also considered were Conner, who had 40 yards rushing and that 12-yard touchdown, plus 78 yards receiving and a 26-yard touchdown; Cam Sutton, who had one tackle, three passes defensed, a recovery of an onside kick attempt, and the interception with 41 seconds left that iced the outcome; Benny Snell, who had 75 yards on 17 carries; T.J. Watt, who had three tackles, half-a-sack, four hits on Rivers, and a pass batted down; and Jordan Berry, who averaged 46.3 yards on four punts, including a 44.5-yard net, with two inside the 20-yard line, and one of those was downed at the Chargers 1-yard line at the start of their final offensive possession.
