CARSON, Calif. _ With their stadium dominated by fans of the opposing team, the Los Angeles Chargers had to do something Sunday night to get the home crowd into the game.
Instead, they immediately fell behind by two touchdowns for the second consecutive week, were scoreless into the fourth quarter and ran out of time in trying to come back in a 24-17 loss to Pittsburgh.
The Steelers came to Carson with only one win but triumphed while using their third-string quarterback.
The Chargers fell to 2-4 as they again looked largely disjointed on offense and struggled to tackle.
After doing little for three quarters, they closed to within one score with a 17-point fourth quarter. But their final possession ended when Philip Rivers was intercepted in the last minute.
All this unfolded on a night when Dignity Health Sports Park was packed with noisy Steelers fans waving yellow towels and chanting for "DE-fence!"
The Chargers have struggled to establish themselves in Los Angeles since moving here from San Diego before the 2017 season. But the atmosphere for this game was about as inhospitable for the Chargers team as any home game yet.
Even worse, the whole thing was chronicled for the entire country to see by NBC and its "Sunday Night Football" crew, the Chargers' woes on and off the field glaring.
The good news? The team will go on the road for its next two games and plays only once in Carson until mid-December.
That Nov. 3 game is against Green Bay, another opponent with feverish fans who could take over Dignity Health Sports Park.
The passion for the Steelers was on full display despite the team's 1-4 record entering Sunday and the fact undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges was starting at quarterback.
Hodges, who was playing at Samford a year ago, made his first NFL start a memorable and victorious one. He finished 15 for 20 for 132 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Pittsburgh controlled the pace of the game by rushing 36 times for 124 yards.
The Steelers have lost Ben Roethlisberger for the season because of an elbow injury, and backup Mason Rudolph was ruled out after suffering a concussion last week. But by going up so big so early, the Steelers were able to run the ball and not ask too much from Hodges.
The Chargers fell behind 24-0 before Chase McLaughlin kicked a 38-yard field goal one minute into the fourth quarter.
They pulled to within two touchdowns when Rivers hit tight end Hunter Henry for a five-yard score with 7:13 to go. The drive was set up by an interception by Rayshawn Jenkins.
Rivers and Henry hooked up again for an 11-yard touchdown with 1:29 remaining. After missing the previous four games because of a knee injury, Henry returned to make eight catches for 100 yards.
Rivers finished 26 for 44 for 320 yards but was intercepted twice and also lost a fumble.
The Chargers failed to run the ball for the second week in a row, finishing with only 32 yards on 14 carries. Melvin Gordon, in his second game back after ending his holdout, carried eight times for 18 yards.
