Steelers take advantage of miserable backward pass, interception to score early vs. Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers find new and exciting ways to shoot themselves in the foot each week. The team wasted no time doing exactly that Sunday night in a 24-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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On the Chargers’ second drive of the night, Philip Rivers tried to hit Melvin Gordon on a quick pass. Gordon got a hand on the ball, but the pass was high. Gordon couldn’t come up with the ball and it fell to the ground.

Problem was, Rivers threw a backward pass. That meant the ball was still live. Linebacker Devin Bush scooped it up, and ran for a Steelers touchdown.

Things didn’t improve for the Chargers on the team’s next drive. On the fourth play, Rivers’ pass was tipped at the line. That allowed Bush to strike again. This time, he intercepted Rivers, giving the Steelers the ball again.

Bush didn’t score on the interception, but that’s OK. Running back James Conner was there to pick him up. Conner ran in a touchdown a few plays later to put the Steelers up 14-0 in the first quarter.

With third-string quarterback Devlin Hodges starting, Pittsburgh needed its defense to come up big and the running game to produce.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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