On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Chargers will clash in a rare meeting of 2-0 teams boasting the NFL’s top-ranked scoring defenses. Justin Herbert and Justin Fields are merely supporting characters in this week’s gridiron skirmish at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium.
The offensive Battle of the Justins takes a backseat to the defensive excellence leading the assault for their respective teams. There won’t be any Maserati offenses racing to the endzone in this matchup. Just two monster trucks smashing into each other from inside a pit. The pendulum has shifted back towards defenses in 2024 and this matchup is a microcosm of that effect. At a more granular level, there are several individual matchups that could tip the scales on Sunday.
TJ Watt vs. Joe Alt
Joe Alt’s career has received high praise only two games into his career. The Chargers left tackle stormed out of the gates with a series of hellacious encounters with Maxx Crosby in Week 1, where he held his own, and Ctrl+Alt+Deleted Jadaveon Clowney in Week 2 en route to becoming PFF’s highest-rated offensive tackle in Week 2.
Next comes T.J. Watt, who could record his 100th career sack on Sunday. When healthy, Watt has been a prolific sack machine. Twice in the last three seasons, he’s threatened the single-season sack record, but even those individual statistical marks don’t fully encapsulate how he sets the intense tone for Teryl Austin’s defense. This is going to be Alt’s toughest challenge yet.
Pittsburgh secondary vs. Justin Herbert
“Justin Herbert has essentially been converted into a game manager!!!” - Cam Newton in a fedora and scarf somewhere, probably.
The first two weeks of this regular season, have been the first back-to-back games of his career in which Herbert has attempted fewer than 30 passes. He also ranks in the bottom-10 on depth of target on his throws while Pittsburgh has forced the NFL’s lowest passer rating against opposing QBs. Minkah Fitzpatrick is motivated to get back on track after failing to record an interception for the first time in his collegiate or pro career while Joey Porter Jr. is superb in coverage when he’s not bailing out opposing teams with boneheaded penalties.
Asante Samuel Jr. vs. George Pickens
Given that he throws across the middle at the league’s lowest rate, Justin Fields is going to have to either play against type or take risks throwing to the outside against a vindictive Chargers secondary that has defended outside the numbers more adeptly than any unit in the league. Eventually, Fields is going to test the top of the Chargers defense with Pickens.
Last year, Pickens led the league in yards per reception. If Fields is going to retain this starting job, showcasing big play chops, Russell Wilson’s and superpower, is where he can do it. Fields will need to throw for over 150 yards for the first time this season and rejuvenating Pittsburgh’s dormant downfield aerial offense is where he has to excel.
Eventually, Fields and Co. have to get off the offensive backroads and hop on the offensive freeway. It might seem counterintuitive to believe Pickens can be a difference-maker against the most formidable defense in the league over the first two weeks, but the offense won’t be able to sit back and ride the defense’s coattails forever.
Justin Fields vs. Derwin James
We know Justin Fields can play checkers, but can he win a chess match against one of the league’s premier safeties? Whether he’s playing in the box, flying in off a designed safety blitz, covering tight ends, or blowing up deep shots while roaming in coverage, Derwin James is a stick of dynamite who can haunt opposing quarterbacks with his versatility. Fields hit his sweet spot playing conservatively and avoiding turnovers, but the Chargers appear to be a grade above what he’s faced so far.
J.K. Dobbins vs. Patrick Queen
Harbaugh imported his ground-and-pound scheme, his strength and conditioning coordinator from Ann Arbor, and reunited with his Stanford and Niners colleague Greg Roman. The result has been a rushing attack that has terrorized front sevens and allowed Herbert to pick his spots while J.K. Dobbins gets the marquee billing. Entering Week 3, Dobbins is the NFL’s leading rusher and its most explosive one averaging nearly 10 yards per carry.
Patrick Queen was brought in from Baltimore by Pittsburgh to play inside linebacker and help seal those gaps. He’s had a quiet start to the 2024 campaign, but a showdown against a terrestrial ground attack orchestrated by his previous team's ex-offensive coordinator and two former teammates, this is the sort of matchup he needs to impose his will on.