From the press room: Steelers vs. Chargers

Win the fight: Before Sunday's game against the Chargers, coach Mike Tomlin told his team that it would be a battle between two undefeated teams facing off.

He was right, but it was the Steelers who struck the decisive blow with a 20-10 victory at Acrisure Stadium, improving their record to 3-0 on the young season.

“We talked about it all week,” Tomlin said. “We knew we were in for a fight. Styles make fights. They're set up the way we are. We knew it was going to be a great game. They play great defense. We play great defense. We had to make our defense be better than them. I thought they did that.”

“We committed to the running game. They obviously had the best runner in the league and the best offense, and our offense had to be faster than them, and we did that. That's why the game went the way it did.

“I'm just grateful for the guys' efforts. But it was a struggle, man. These guys are obviously well-coached and a talented group. It didn't happen immediately. We had to stick with it. But that's life and certainly life in the NFL.”

Chargers running back JK Dobbins was the NFL's leading runner with 266 yards in two games. The defense stopped Dobbins, holding him to 44 yards on 15 carries, while the running game totaled just 61 yards.

“We should respond like that,” Tomlin said. “At this level, there is a certain nakedness in this business. There's nowhere to hide.”

“When you're faced with a challenge like that in your stadium, you better fight. Let's be very clear that the best runner and the best team of runners that come into our building have to fight. They have no other choice.”

On the other hand, Najee Harris carried the ball 18 times for 70 yards, while the Steelers covered 114 yards on the ground.

“I just liked our overall demeanor the whole time,” Tomlin said. “It wasn't fluid the whole time. But I didn't see anyone flinching or running away from the challenge. I just felt the guys were rising to the challenge.”
“It’s obvious that we need to reproduce this as we move forward.

“It's good to be 3-0 up here.”

The Steelers' running game came mostly late in the game and was no surprise to Tomlin.

“Like I said, styles make fights, and that's how these two teams and defenses are set up,” Tomlin said. “We didn't expect it to be a cakewalk at any point, but we wanted to keep pounding the rock and hopefully break through, and it felt like we were able to do that in the later parts of the game.”

While there were some positives to the game, the Steelers suffered a number of injuries during the game and lost their No. 1 pick, Troy Fautanu, to the reserve/injured list the day before the game.

“Obviously we had some injuries before and during the game, but that's life,” Tomlin said. “We're less concerned about the unfortunate ones who got injured and more focused on those who get a chance to step up and contribute.”

“This is really bad for Alex Highsmith, but I'm happy for (Nick) Herbig, for example. And none of us are surprised by the quality of work he has done for us and many others.”

“Cory Trice had a hamstring injury, Alex Highsmith had a groin injury, Jaylen Warren couldn't finish late in the second half. I took him out of the game. It just didn't look like he was running smoothly. We'll evaluate him.”

“Van Jefferson was able to play again in the final stages of the game. He was hit in the eye. His vision cleared and he took part again.

“We picked up a few bumps and bruises during the game. We'll analyze that and I'll give you a full report on Tuesday, but as I sit here today, I'm grateful for the men's efforts. I'm grateful that it's 3-0.”

“It's good to be in a good competition like this, man, good five-star duels if you will, and come out on top. It's something to grow from and we better learn our lessons and move on because there are challenges ahead.”