How slight is the difference between winning and losing in the National Football League?
It’s thinner than a thread of hair if you ask the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons. They completed Week 2 with a game Atlanta won 22-21 on “Monday Night Football” after having less than a 1% chance of winning, 0.7%, following the two-minute warning, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
This is why it’s time to take a zoomed-in examination of one of Week 3’s top matchups between two 2-0 teams: the Los Angeles Chargers vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sunday afternoon’s showdown between the two squads will be the first between 2-0 teams with top-two scoring defenses since Week 3 of the 1986 seasons when the Seattle Seahawks (8.5 points per game allowed entering Week 3) faced the New England Patriots (4.5 points per game) in a game Seattle won 38-21.
New Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter brought their stifling defense to the West Coast from the University of Michigan as Los Angeles leads the NFL in scoring defense through two weeks, allowing 6.5 points per game. How big of a deal is that. Well, the Chargers allowed 31.5 points per game through two games a season ago under former coach Brandon Staley, which was 30th in the league at that time. Coach Mike Tomlin’s and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin’s Pittsburgh defense remains as stingy as ever allowing eight points per game.
How will either offense gain an edge over their high-powered counterpart? Let’s take a closer look at the biggest matchups on each side of the football.
Chargers offense vs. Steelers defense
Los Angeles is coming off of its most dominant game of 2024 in Week 2, a 26-3 victory at the Carolina Panthers. It’s a game in which Baltimore Ravens import J.K. Dobbins erupted for his second game with over 130 rushing yards (131) and a touchdown on 17 carries thanks in part to a 43-yard…
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Author : Garrett Podell
Publish date : 2024-09-19 16:18:43
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