Steelers linebacker Devin Bush (55) dives for the end zone as Chargers offensive tackle Sam Tevi (69) tries to tackle him in their game Sunday night at Dignity Health Sports Park -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

Steelers

Bush, Steelers' defense leads the way to win over Chargers ☕

By Dale Lolley

Oct 14, 2019 • 2:52 pm

7.8K

CARSON, Calif. -- Down to his third-string quarterback, Mike Tomlin's message to his defense last week was a simple one.

They were getting turnovers -- entering the week tied for the league lead with 12. But now they had to turn those turnovers into points to help out undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges, who made his first career start Sunday night against the Chargers here at very pro-Steelers crowd at Dignity Health Sports Park.

Apparently, fellow rookie Devin Bush took Tomlin's words to heart.

Bush returned a Philip Rivers fumble nine yards for the game's first touchdown, then intercepted Rivers on the next possession to set up a 12-yard touchdown run by James Conner as the Steelers jumped out to a 24-0 lead en route to a 24-17 win over the Chargers.

"What coach talked about all week was engineering a win," said Bush. "Our plan was to set up a short game for Devlin, make it simple for him, not make it erratic for him, and put points on the board early."

Bush, who the Steelers traded their first- and second-round picks this year (and a third-round selection in 2020) to go up and get with the 10th selection in this year's draft, did just that.

The inside linebacker became the first Steelers' rookie since Delton Hall in 1987 to return a fumble for a touchdown and intercept a pass in the same game. He's also just the fifth Steelers player to do so in the same game since the 1970 NFL merger.

His fumble recovery came on a ball behind the line of scrimmage Rivers tried to lateral to running back Melvin Gordon. As it lay there on the turf, Bush alertly picked it up and ran into the end zone, getting past offensive tackle Sam Tevi to score.

"It was behind the line of scrimmage and I didn't hear the whistle," Bush said. "So I figured it was a live ball."

The turnovers are coming naturally for the rookie. He already has four fumble recoveries and two interceptions this season. As a result, the Steelers, who forced just 15 turnovers as a team last season, already have 15 in 2019, with Cam Sutton adding the third for the defense in this game, intercepting Rivers at the end of the game.

"I'm just proud of the team as a whole for getting things done," defensive end Cam Heyward said. "This is AFC football. These games count more than the ones against the NFC. We needed a win, especially after last week. That one hurt a little. We wanted to bounce back."

They did just that after their overtime loss to the Ravens. At 2-4 heading into their bye this week, they find themselves alive in an AFC playoff race that looks as wide open as it has in any season. The Steelers are now tied with Cleveland for second place in the AFC North, two games behind the Ravens (4-2). The Chargers fall to 2-4.

The win came with Hodges making his first career start. The rookie wasn't outstanding, but he was efficient, completing 15 of 20 passes for 132 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

But he did lean heavily on the running game thanks to the lead the defense helped set up, including this interception by Bush:

Conner had 16 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown, adding seven receptions for 78 yards and a score. Rookie Benny Snell, who moved up to the No. 2 role behind Conner with Jaylen Samuels out with a knee injury, had 75 yards on 17 carries and also a catch for another 14 yards.

After Bush's interception off a tipped pass by Tyson Alualu at the Los Angeles 41, Conner touched the ball all seven times on the possession, running it four times and catching it three more. Conner was a big part of the team's success holding the ball, as well, as he converted five consecutive third downs in the first half -- four on catches and one on a run.

The Steelers finished 8 of 13 on third downs in the game, the first time this season they have had more than three third down conversions in a game.

"Any time the defense scores first -- any time the defense scores when I'm on the bench -- that's big time," said Hodges, who became the first Steelers quarterback to win his first career start since Ben Roethlisberger in 2004.

"That takes a little bit of pressure off us. As far as converting third downs, I mean, James Conner. Checking the ball down to him sometimes and a couple of other third downs. We just did the game plan we had planned, and executed it."

Conner also finished off the Steelers' best drive of the game, a 14-play, 86-yard possession on which they wracked up six first downs, with a nifty catch and run for a 21-yard touchdown that made it 21-0.

It sure helped to have the defense setting the table.

"Oh man, that was huge," said center Maurkice Pouncey. "That allowed us to just run the ball and stay on schedule. It was like the old days. Jerome Bettis."

Rivers finished 26 of 44 for 320 yards with two touchdowns -- both to tight end Hunter Henry -- and two interceptions.

"Philip Rivers is a good quarterback, a smart quarterback. You're not going to hold him down forever," said cornerback Joe Haden. "But I thought we did a good job with a lot of moving parts."

Yeah, about that. The Steelers entered the game missing starting corner Steven Nelson and inside linebacker Mark Barron. Then, defensive end Stephon Tuitt left in the first quarter with a pectoral injury. Haden went out in the fourth quarter with a groin injury. And Bush left at the end of the first half with a foot injury before returning in the second half. Even Conner had a quad injury late that had the Steelers riding Snell to the finish.

"Guys kind of stepped up, and stepped up in a big way," said Tomlin. "I think we had a quality effort by a lot of people. Devlin obviously gets a lot of attention for his effort for what he brought, but there were a lot of others. Artie Burns in place of Steven Nelson. I thought his play was solid and significant. Benny Snell, as James wasn't able to continue, the plays he gave us were significant. It was just a good overall team win."

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore

• Video highlights

• Scoreboard

• Standings

THE KICK

Steelers' punter Jordan Berry is quietly having a good season, and entered this game averaging over 47 yards per punt. He didn't quite hit his average in this game, but he certainly made an impact.

First, after the Steelers went three-and-out from deep in their own end on their initial possession, Berry nailed a 59-yard kick that forced Chargers' Pro Bowl return man Desmond King to call a fair catch on at his own 21, flipping the field.

That came right before Bush's fumble return for a touchdown.

Then, with the Steelers holding a 24-17 lead late in the game, Tomlin decided to punt from the Los Angeles 36 on fourth-and-1 with 1:11 remaining in the game.

Berry perfectly pooched the ball down the right sideline, where gunner Johnny Holton beat his man down the sideline to down the ball at the 1.

"They had two guys on the outside, but then moved one in to go for the block," Holton told me. "So I just had to beat one guy. And we're supposed to beat one guy every time. Jordan hit a perfect pooch punt."

Berry only got credit for 35 yards on the kick, but it was impactful. It meant the Chargers had to go 99 yards in a minute with no timeouts. Two plays later, Sutton picked off a desperation attempt by Rivers.

"It was a really good job by our special teams to pin them at the 1," Heyward said. "That left them 99 yards with no timeouts. That really put us in a good situation."

• The Steelers had just one sack -- shared by T.J. Watt and Anthony Chickillo -- but had six hits on Rivers, with Watt getting four of those.

• The Steelers had nine passes defended in the game, with Sutton leading the team with two.

• The Chargers had just 32 yards rushing on 14 carries.

• Henry, who had been out since Week 1 with a knee injury, caught eight passes for 100 yards and two scores for the Chargers.

• Keenan Allen, who had 14 receptions for 148 yards and a touchdown in a 33-30 win by the Chargers over the Steelers in 2018, had just two catches for 33 yards on six targets.

• The Steelers had a 34:05 to 25:55 advantage in time of possession.

• The Steelers won a game on the West Coast for the first time since beating the Chargers in San Diego in 2015.

• The win improved the Steelers' record with a first-time starter at quarterback to 5-20-1 in their history.

THE INJURIES

• Stephon Tuitt (pectoral, did not return)

• Joe Haden (groin, did not return)

• James Conner (quad, did not return)

• Devin Bush (foot, returned)

• T.J. Watt (oblique, returned)

• Mason Rudolph (concussion, DNP)

• James Washington (shoulder, DNP)

• Mark Barron (hamstring, DNP)