PITTSBURGH — It was the only 11-10 score ever recorded in NFL history. And it was a Steelers victory. However, talking to Steelers wide receivers coach and former Meadville resident Randy Fichtner about that game, it’s somewhat hard to tell.
After all, the Steelers offense never made it into the end zone when they battled Chargers back on November 16. The defense scored a safety, and kicker Jeff Reed kicked three field goals to notch the one-point win.
Yet, quarterback Ben Roethlisburger threw for 308 yards, running back Willie Parker rushed for 115, and receiver Hines Ward caught 124 yards worth of passes; and the offense still couldn’t crack the goal line.
And for a guy who is all about offense, that doesn’t sit well with Randy Fichtner.
“We moved the ball down he field, but we didn’t take care of situational football,” Fichtner said Friday following Steelers’ practice.
“Situational football; on fourth-and-one you make it, on the goalline you score, on third-and-one you make it. We didn’t do that. We didn’t make it.”
Penalties didn’t help. The Steelers were flagged 13 times against the Chargers, losing a total of 115 yards.
“Those things happen,” said Fichtner. “And they just all seemed to happen at once.
“The one thing we did in that game is we didn’t turn the ball over,” he added. “And when you don’t turn the ball over, you always have a chance to win. So if there was a silver lining, it was that we didn’t turn the ball over.”
Silver lining? This is a win we’re talking about.
“Oh no, yeah,” said Fichtner. “It was a win. We’ll take them any way. We’ll take the win, we’ll celebrate and we move on to the next game.”
That next game happens to be against a familar opponent. Yet, according to Fichtner, San Diego is a different kind of team than the Steelers saw eight weeks ago.
“They were maligned early in the season,” he said. “They had a couple games that didn’t go their way and they lost their defensive coordinator. So they were in transition.”
A few weeks before facing the Steelers in November, the Chargers fired defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell and replaced him with one-time inside linebackers coach Ron Rivera.
“And you can see the results of the change,” said Fichtner. “Each week their defense is getting better.”
San Diego’s defense hasn’t exactly broken any records this year. In fact, the Chargers ended the regular season 25th in total defense in the NFL and next to last in passing defense.
However, stats aren’t the only measure of a team’s effectiveness, says coach Fichtner.
“From a defensive standpoint, I know they’ve improved since the last time we played them,” he said. “The statistics tell you that, if you like to watch statistics. But when you watch it on tape, it looks better.
“I don’t care if they went from 32nd in the league in pass defense to 31st. That means some improvement, yeah. But what do they look like on tape right now compared to eight weeks ago? They do look different. They’re playing more confident, they’re playing well, they’re understanding more schemes.”
For Fichtner, one of the most important pieces of evidence that San Diego has truly improved is that the Chargers are where they are.
Last week in the AFC Wild Card game, San Diego beat one of the top passing offenses in the NFL when they downed the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 in overtime.
“They gave Peyton (Manning) all he could think about last week,” said Fichtner. “(The Chargers) were at home, they were riding that wave of energy and the defense made some plays.”
Today, the Chargers won’t have that home field energy to rely on. And they’ll be facing an organization that, according to Fichtner, always has winning on its mind.
“The guys aren’t afraid to stand up and make a play,” he said. “Some teams, some guys hope they don’t make the mistake that loses the game. Our guys all feel like they want to be the guy that makes the play that will win the game.
“It’s a whole attitude. And it starts at the top, from (Steelers owner and chairman Dan) Rooney, down to (head coach) Mike (Tomlin), to the assistants to the players, trainers, managers, everybody. It’s unbelievable.”
Pete Chiodo can be reached at 724-6370 ext. 275 or by e-mail at pchiodo@meadvilletribune.com.
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