2008 Steelers 11 vs Chargers 10
November 16, 2008
Game Stats | Comments




2008 Steelers 11 vs Chargers 10

A bizarre game on a cold, snowy day, bookended by amazing Troy Polamalu highlights at the start and finish and plagued by questionable officiating. Polamalu's now-famous diving, one-handed "scooping" interception of a tipped pass -- fractions of an inch off the snowy turf -- lets Phillip Rivers know what kind of a day he is going to have. But the play results in a Jeff Reed missed FG, also letting Pittsburgh know what kind of a day it's going to be.

Big Ben (31 of 41, 308 yds), Willie Parker (25 att, 115 yds) and Hines Ward (11 rec, 124 yds) all have strong performances. But in spite of moving the ball up and down the field for over 400 yards, the Steelers' scoring output is 3 FGs (the final one with 11 seconds left) and a 2nd quarter safety on a James Harrison sack, due in part to 13 penalties for 115 yds and 2 overturned TDs by the officials. Thanks to another simply incredible performance by Pittsburgh's defense in which Tomlinson is held to 57 yards and Rivers is sacked 4 times and forced into 2 INTs, not many points are needed.

Trailing 10-8 late in the game, the Steelers offense mounts a 13-play, 73-yd drive that eats up 6-1/2 minutes and ends in Reed's game-winning FG. The 11-10 final score is a surprising first in NFL history, but it only happens due to an officiating error. With 5 seconds remaining from their own 21, Rivers throws a short pass over the middle to Tomlinson, who laterals to Chambers, who pitches the ball to a teammate only to have Polamalu swat it away, scoop it up and take it into the end zone from the 12 for an apparent TD. But the bumbling officiating crew, apparently intent on blowing one last call, incorrectly rules the play was dead on an illegal forward lateral, preserving the final score at 11-10 instead of 18-10.


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