Winning the fight: Heading into Sunday's game against the 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."
While there were positives in the game, the Steelers sustained some in-game injuries, as well as losing No. 1 pick Troy Fautanu the day before the game when he was placed on the Reserve/Injured List.
"Obviously, we sustained some injuries and so forth prior to the game and in game, but that's ball and life, as well," said Tomlin. "We spend less time worrying about the unfortunates that got hurt and like to spend our time focusing on those that get the opportunity to elevate and contribute.
"Sucks for Alex Highsmith, excited for (Nick) Herbig, for example. And none of us are surprised with the quality of work that he gave us and a lot of others.
"Cory Trice had a hamstring, Alex Highsmith had a groin, Jaylen Warren wasn't able to finish late in the second half. I pulled him from the game. It just didn't look like he was running smoothly. We'll evaluate him.
"Van Jefferson was able to go back in in the latter portions of the game. He got poked in the eye. His vision cleared up, he went back to participation.
"We got some other bumps and bruises associated with play. We'll analyze that and I'll give you a full report on Tuesday, but just as I sit here today, I'm thankful for the efforts of the men. I'm thankful to be 3-0.
"It's good to be in a good contest like this, man, good-on-good five-star match-ups, if you will, and come out on the other side. There's growth in it, and we'd better learn the lessons and keep stepping because we've got challenges that await us."
It feels great: Quarterback Justin Fields has his most complete outing in black and gold, completing 25 of 32 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Chargers.
"I think the offense, we did a great job responding, and we knew what kind of game it was going to be, so just proud of the guys out there for responding like we did, especially after they scored that first touchdown, and going down and putting a drive together," said Fields. "It was good.
"It feels great. We kind of knew what we were up against, two great edge rushers, and I think they were ranked No. 1 defense in the NFL coming into this thing. We knew we had a big test in front of us, but we have a pretty good defense that we go up against every day, as well.
"Just going up against those guys on the other side of the ball on our team, just kind of prepared us for this moment, and like I said, everybody came out, executed, and we put points up on the board, so it felt great."
Fields connected with Calvin Austin III for a 55-yard touchdown after Austin turned on the afterburners for yards after catch, something Fields appreciated.
"In that situation, of course you always appreciate the YAC, the yards after catch that Calvin got us," said Fields. "And it was a huge play for us."
Fields spread the ball around, completing passes to eight different players, including four completions to Austin for 95 yards and two completions to Scotty Miller for 31 yards, two players who stepped up big for the offense.
"Those guys definitely stepped up today," said Fields. "Calvin doing everything on offense and special teams, as well, and then Scotty, too. I don't think he played last week, so just coming in, he had a big third down conversion for us, broken tackle with some yards. They both played great today."
The win over the Chargers is the first time in Fields career, which includes three seasons with the Chicago Bears, that he won three consecutive games.
Fields admitted it feels good to do that, but only because of a team standpoint, not a personal standpoint.
"It means a lot, but at the end of the day, it's not just me winning games," said Fields. "It's the whole team. I'm just happy to be a part of this team, happy to be a part of this organization, and we definitely look forward to keeping it going next week versus Indy."
Defense steps up: As T.J. Watt sat at the podium answering questions following the win over the Chargers, he laughed for a minute after he got question after question about the play of second-year outside linebacker Nick Herbig.
"I'm sick of talking about Herb," said a laughing Watt. "Let's just stop all this now. Geez Louise."
Watt, though, was all about singing the praises of Herbig, who 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 today."
Herbig has been Watt's shadow since he was drafted by the Steelers last year, and Watt can easily see the growth in him since his rookie season.
"Him, Keeanu (Benton), just those second-year players. Joey (Porter Jr.), you see the jump because you're so much more comfortable out there," said Watt. "You're not just out there saying, I have the curl flat this drop. It's, okay, I know what I have, I can hear, I can use all of my senses and diagnose what I think is potentially happening on this play, and that's why I think you see that jump from those guys from year one to year two.
"But with that being said, it's because they want to learn, and he's capable of doing it, and he's able to apply what he learns to the game field, which is huge."
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 today.
"This week was two trains on the track, two top defenses coming in. We know they love to run the ball, we love stopping the run. Haven't looked at the film yet, but it seems like we out-performed them today, but that's a hell of a football team, and it means nothing if we don't get back in the lab and learn from all this and keep going."
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