Watch live on Sky Sports Action or Main Event from 1.10am on Monday; kick-off is at 1.20am
Monday 14 October 2019 00:29, UK
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Los Angeles Chargers both need a win to keep their AFC playoff hopes alive when they meet for Sunday Night Football, exclusively live on Sky Sports Action and Main Event. Here is what to expect...
The visiting Steelers (1-4) have surprisingly been worse of these two teams. They got trounced 33-3 in Week One by the New England Patriots and most recently suffered an agonising 23-26 overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week Five.
Even worse - after losing long-time starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger for the season during Week Two, his backup Mason Rudolph was injured last week and misses this contest.
The Chargers (2-3) have had a torrid time in their opening five games. Despite an opening day overtime victory against the Indianapolis Colts, they've lost to the the Lions, Texans and last week, the then-winless Broncos. Their only other victory was a over the lowly Dolphins.
With the Chiefs rolling and Raiders looking surprisingly good, the Chargers need conference wins to stay in the AFC West and Wild Card hunt.
With the top two QBs down, Devlin Hodges starts for Pittsburgh. The 23-year-old was signed as an undrafted free agent in the off-season and will be making his first NFL start. Unfortunately for Hodges, though, the Steelers are running thin at offense in other places as well this week.
Both receiving back Jaylen Samuels and speedy receiver James Washington have been ruled out with injury. It's not all bad news though, as the team's top target, JuJu Smith-Schuster will provide a threat for the Chargers' defense. The 22-year-old has 24 receptions, 333 receiving yards and two touchdowns - he leads the team in all categories.
Running back James Conner will also play a massive part for the Steelers, as they have struggled to have any sort of impact on the ground so far this season. The 24-year-old averages just 3.3 yards per carry and only has two rushing touchdowns to his name.
Defensively, the Steelers look much improved since they traded for second-year safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The former Miami Dolphin had an interception and a forced fumble on his debut in Week Three and will be essential in the Steelers' plan to stop Keenan Allen and Mike Williams. The duo have racked up 701 receiving yards and three touchdowns between them this season, despite the Chargers offense struggling to score points.
Quarterback Philip Rivers isn't just limited to those two when throwing the ball. In fact, running back Austin Ekeler leads the team in receptions with 39. The 24-year-old has 583 all-purpose yards alongside six touchdowns this season - three receiving and three rushing. Even though star running back Melvin Gordon returned from his holdout last week, Ekeler still seemed to be the feature back. If the pair are used effectively together, it could spell a lot of trouble for the Steelers.
The Chargers could potentially be missing star defensive end Melvin Ingram, and with Derwin James and Adrian Phillips already out, it could mean trouble when the Steelers have the ball. However, the Chargers have had the third-highest pressure rate in the NFL so far this season, with Joey Bosa spearheading that. The 24-year-old has 25 tackles and three sacks so far this season.
