OK, the Steelers’ 20-10 Week 3 win over the Chargers at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday afternoon wasn’t the absolute best manifestation of their formula.

After all, quarterback Justin Fields threw an interception in the third quarter, shortly after the defense gave him the ball in great field position. But it was Pittsburgh’s first turnover of the season, and there is something to be said for being more aggressive and taking some chances.

People make mistakes, but there is no mistaking the success of the Steelers’ current formula: Take care of the football (mostly), run the ball, control the clock, and play great defense.

It wasn’t a great day for Pittsburgh’s ground attack, but 31 carries for 114 yards is a fine effort in a close game vs. an opponent who wants to mirror you in style of play. It’s also a very effective effort when the defense shuts down the opponent’s rushing offense. Los Angeles carried 20 times for 61 yards–including 44 yards on 15 carries by J.K. Dobbins–and that part of its attack didn’t factor in at all. It theoretically should have. The contest was tight for the first three-and-a-half quarters, and the Chargers’ entire playbook should have been available to them.

However, the Steelers’ defense never let Los Angeles’ offense take over.

The visitors could have early on, especially after they marched 59 yards on five plays and took a 7-0 lead on a 27-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Justin Herbert to receiver Quentin Johnston late in the first quarter.

Pittsburgh’s offense was lifeless to start the day and in the red in terms of real estate gained after netting negative five yards on its first two possessions.

I believe the most important moment for the Steelers occurred on their next possession when they answered Los Angeles’ touchdown drive with one of their own. Fields orchestrated a 13-play, 70-drive that included many small plays and one big one–a 20-yard catch and run by receiver Scotty Miller on third and four that set the offense up at the Chargers’ 12. Three plays later, on third and three from the five, Fields ran in untouched to tie the game at seven. It was the third third-down conversion on the drive for the Steelers.

If Pittsburgh had been forced to punt on that possession or settle for three points, it may have set the tone for the rest of the game. Falling behind by two scores or more had become commonplace for Pittsburgh in recent years, and I’m not so sure how Fields and Co. may have responded to a 10 or 14-point deficit on Sunday.

The Chargers proceeded to take a 10-7 lead following a 12-play, 60-yard drive that resulted in a 28-yard field goal for Cameron Dicker late in the second quarter.

Yeah, but a 10-7 game is just how head coach Mike Tomlin loves to play it these days. He knows how to manage those kinds of deficits.

Tomlin loves to put the game in the hands of his defense, and that unit responded on Sunday by dominating the Chargers offense the rest of the way.

Early in the second half, the defense bludgeoned the Chargers offensive line until it was too helpless to protect its already compromised quarterback. Sure enough, Herbert, who came into the day suffering from a high-ankle sprain, was sacked by linebacker Elandon Roberts on the Chargers’ second possession of the third quarter, and that aggravated the injury and seemed to be the turning point in the game.

Pittsburgh had already tied the score at 10 on a Chris Boswell 38-yard field goal early in the second half, and he gave the home team its first lead of the day on a 30-yard try at the start of the final period.

You could smell the blood in the three rivers the second Taylor Heinicke replaced the hobbled Herbert on Los Angeles’ next possession, and he was ultimately sacked by T.J. Watt to end a somewhat promising drive that had reached midfield.

Moments later, the Steelers scored their third touchdown of the season–and second of the game–when Fields hit receiver Calvin Austin on a quick slant, and the little speedster took it the rest of the way for a 55-yard score to make it 20-10 with 7:02 left in the game.

Game over.

Not officially, but the Steelers defense put its official stamp on the win by sacking Heinicke two more times on the Chargers’ next drive. The second one was by Cam Heyward. The first one was the second of the day by Nick Herbig, who entered the game earlier for an injured Alex Highsmith.

The Chargers lost 14 yards on that drive, which left them with negative-five yards for the second half.

The Steelers’ offense methodically milked the last 4:59 minutes of game time to ensure that the visitors remained in yardage debt over the final two periods.

What a performance by the defense, but I have to give credit to Fields, too. He did make that one mistake, but he also attacked the middle of the field more on Sunday than he did the first two weeks combined.

The Steelers may have lost the turnover battle, 1-0, but they won the time of possession battle (33:51 to 26:09) and only committed three penalties vs. seven for Los Angeles.

I don’t know if the Steelers have arrived. I don’t know if Fields is the answer at quarterback. But I do know that the defense is best the NFL has to offer through the first three weeks of the 2024 campaign. It does everything well and is good at all three levels.

I also know that the Steelers played their strongest opponent thus far and looked their best doing it.

You may have been able to argue with the Steelers’ approach following the first two games, but it’s hard to quibble after how effective and dominant that approach was in Week 3.

Steelers fans have grown accustomed in recent years to saying things like, “A win is a win” following an ugly victory.

But Sunday’s performance and outcome felt different.

These 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers may be onto something with their formula for success.