The Chargers lead the Steelers, 12-3, at halftime of Sunday Night Football.
Here’s what to take away from the first half.
Pass rush getting to Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers has been sacked twice in the first half, including a strip sack by Khalil Mack that resulted in a safety to open the scoring for the Chargers. Mack, Odafe Oweh, and Tuli Tuipulotu have all been effective on inside moves against Steelers left tackle Broderick Jones, who has a backup left guard next to him with Isaac Seumalo out with a pectoral injury. That pressure has also thrown Rodgers off rhythm, even when he hasn’t gone down: most of his misses have sailed high as he’s tried to get the ball away, including the interception to RJ Mickens.
Kimani Vidal finding room
Vidal has continued his every-other-week hot and cold streak through the first half, taking 8 carries for 49 yards for an average of 6.1 per carry. He also has one catch for 13 yards. The second-year running back has been more effective between the tackles than he was last week against the Titans, but the Chargers have also been able to get him to the perimeter more frequently and utilize his wiggle in space.
Quick game effectiveness
The Chargers offense began to find a rhythm when they went to the quick game, throwing a handful of screens and quick passes to Quentin Johnston and Tre Harris to try to inject some life into the offense and protect Justin Herbert from taking more hits. That’s worked well to this point – Johnston has 4 catches for 27 yards and Harris has 2 for 4 – and has been a weakness of the Steelers defense all season. With cornerback Darius Slay currently out while he’s being evaluated for a concussion, LA may have more opportunities to move the ball quickly in the second half.
Run defense steps up
The Steelers entered this week as the fifth-best rushing offense by DVOA this season, but they’ve been held to 9 carries for 31 yards in the first half. Jaylen Warren has found a bit of success on the perimeter, but he’s been planted by linebacker Denzel Perryman a couple of times on runs inside the tackles. Both Perryman and rookie defensive tackle Jamaree Caldwell, who had a TFL on backup running back Kaleb Johnson in the first half, have been standouts in run defense.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: Chargers vs. Steelers: First-half takeaways from Week 10 game
