The Steelers May Be Caught By Surprise With The Familiar Chargers Offense On Sunday

The Pittsburgh Steelers have started the 2024 season on the right foot, as they sit at 2-0 atop the AFC North. Bad starts to the year from both the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens makes Pittsburgh's current standing that much better. Mike Tomlin's Steelers are gearing up to take on the Los Angeles Chargers, who also boast a 2-0 record, in Week 3. Neither Pittsburgh or Los Angeles has really beat anyone noteworthy, and their matchup on Sunday is expected to be a tough, ugly contest. 

The most noteworthy win between the Steelers and Chargers was probably Pittsburgh taking down the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. Other than that, it's been winnable games for the two franchises. The Chargers have a lot of excitement around them during the 2024 season, as they have one of the best quarterbacks in the league and they brought in Jim Harbaugh as their new head coach. Los Angeles also hired Greg Roman as their new offensive coordinator. He served in that role with Baltimore for four seasons, so the Steelers know him well. 

Former NFL tight end, Delanie Walker, served as a coach during training camp for the Chargers, so he has a good grasp of the offense Roman is running. He now hosts a show called The Locker Room with Will Compton. The two were discussing the chances of Chargers running back JK Dobbins scoring a touchdown in Pittsburgh. Compton expressed he was nervous because the Steelers' defense is legit. Walker chimed in with just how special the offense Roman is running is.

"They are, they are. But, I feel like, like I told you, Greg Roman - that offensive scheme. That man's playbook is crazy. I couldn't even like, it's different now."

Walker was a player under Roman and Harbaugh during his time with the San Francisco 49ers, and he was brought in as a coach for camp. He has seen many versions of Roman's offense, as he played in it with the 49ers and got to watch it when Roman was in Baltimore. Walker suggests this new iteration of the offense is different, which may be bad news for Pittsburgh.

It seemed as though Pittsburgh would actually have a slight advantage going into their matchup with the Chargers. The Chargers have so many former Ravens on their team that Pittsburgh's defenders are familiar with. They also squared off against Roman's offense for four years while he was the offensive coordinator in Baltimore. 

Roman has done his thing with the offense in Los Angeles, as Dobbins is leading the league in rushing yardage while not even being in the top-25 in carries. They are running the ball at an insanely efficient rate, which no team has been able to do to Pittsburgh so far in the 2024 season. The scary part about the Chargers is even if the Steelers figure out how to stop Dobbins and the run game, Los Angeles still has one of the better quarterbacks in the league in Justin Herbert. 

Steelers Have Had Some Embarrassing Performances Against Greg Roman's Offense

The Steelers always take pride in their defense, and so far they have had one of the best defensive units during the 2024 season - but that can all change Sunday. Pittsburgh has had some trouble with Roman's offense in the past. In Roman's last season in Baltimore, the Ravens averaged roughly 167 rushing yards per game while playing the Steelers. This can't happen if the Steelers want to have any chance of winning. If a team can run the ball effectively, they can eat the entire clock and control the game.

This wasn't a rare occurrence either. During the 2021 season, Baltimore averaged 178 yards against Pittsburgh on the ground, in 2020, it was nearly 200 yards per game. Pittsburgh cannot allow Roman's offense to control the game on Sunday. They must stop the run and keep the Chargers' offense behind schedule.

What do you expect from Roman's offense on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below!

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