Rodgers

An end to the shutdown?

Not for the Chargers, whose defense put the clamps on the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 25-10 victory before a sea of black-and-gold-clad fans and a national TV audience.

Neither team had many offensive highlights — or first downs, for that matter — but the Chargers did enough to win their third game in a row, something they hadn’t done since the first three games of the season.

You might call the Chargers inhospitable, seeing as the Steelers came into the game averaging 25.3 points. You might call the Steelers inhospitable for filling SoFi Stadium with Pittsburgh fans.

The Terrible Towels were everywhere, but there were precious few opportunities to swirl them. By the fourth quarter, thousands of those fans were streaming for the exits. The Steelers were held to 11 first downs, converted two of 11 third downs and generated 221 total yards.

Aaron Rodgers looked every bit of his 41 years. He was sacked three times, intercepted twice, brought down in the end zone for a safety and he finished with an anemic passer rating of 50.6.

The Steelers looked nothing like the team that forced six turnovers against Indianapolis the week before and handed the Colts just their second loss.

In the waning moments, Keenan Allen caught a pop pass and ran seven yards to become the Chargers’ all-time receptions leader (956), surpassing Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates.

Rodgers couldn’t establish anything close to an offensive rhythm, and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert took an all-too-familiar beating, playing behind an offensive line that has had 19 different combinations this season.

Herbert was sacked five times, a week after the Tennessee Titans got to him six times.

Chargers linebacker Bud Dupree dances after sacking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Steelers scored first with a 59-yard field goal by Chris Boswell in the opening quarter, but after that it was virtually all Chargers. Cameron Dicker had three field goals, and Ladd McConkey and Kimani Vidal scored touchdowns.

Rodgers threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Roman Wilson with 2 minutes 57 seconds remaining, but that was merely a cosmetic score that made the game appear a bit closer.

Herbert took a hit from behind in the second quarter, was slow to his feet and got both ankles taped on the sideline.

According to NBC, he came into the game having been pressured an average of 17 times per game, more than any other quarterback this season, and having absorbed an average of nine hits per game, second-highest for an NFL quarterback in the last 20 seasons.

The Chargers were coming off a win at Tennessee in which they lost left tackle Joe Alt, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury. The team traded for New Orleans offensive lineman Trevor Penning last week.

Even though they leaned into a bunch of quick-developing pass plays to get the ball out of Herbert’s hands quickly, the Chargers still saw their quarterback knocked down time and again. His passes were batted down at the line of scrimmage too, with one winding up back in Herbert’s hands for a reception (although that was wiped out by a Pittsburgh penalty).

The Chargers’ defense got to Rodgers as well, putting the first points on the scoreboard for the home team by sacking the future Hall of Famer in the end zone.

The Chargers next head to Jacksonville. The Jaguars, who got off to a 4-1 start, have lost three of four.

Jacksonville is the site of a horrible memory for the Chargers, who blew a 27-point lead there to suffer a one-point loss in a January 2023 playoff game.

Sad news for Bad Company fans.

Paul Rodgers, one of the original members of the English rock supergroup, announced Tuesday that he will miss the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday where Bad Company will be honored as part of the 2025 class.

“My hope was to be at the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and to perform for the fans, but at this time I have to prioritize my health,” Rodgers wrote in a statement posted to Bad Company’s Instagram page. The singer had planned to reunite with former bandmate and drummer Simon Kirke on stage to perform a couple songs at the ceremony.

While Rodgers did not elaborate on his health in the statement, in 2023 he told CBS News that he had suffered two major strokes in 2016 and 2019, as well as 11 minor strokes, which had temporarily stripped him of his ability to speak.

“I have no problem singing, it’s the stress of everything else,” Rodgers’ statement continued. “Simon along with some outstanding musicians will be stepping in for me — guaranteed to rock.”

Best known for hits such as “Can’t Get Enough,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Ready for Love” and, of course, “Bad Company,” the hard rock group formed in London in 1973. In addition to Rodgers and Kirke, who had played together in the rock band Free, Bad Company’s original members included guitarist Mick Ralphs and bassist Boz Burrell.

The band initially disbanded in 1982 but over the years reunited to record or tour, though not always with the same lineup. Rodgers and Kirke are Bad Company’s only surviving original members — Burrell died in 2006, followed by Ralphs this June.

In addition to Bad Company, the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees include Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, OutKast, Soundgarden and the White Stripes in the performer category. Additional inductees Salt-N-Pepa, Warren Zevon, Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins and Carol Kaye will all be honored either for musical influence or excellence, while Lenny Waronker is the recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award for lifetime achievement.