Wild Card Round: San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers (Three Rivers Stadium), the bracket opens here. Kickoff: Sun January 9, 1983 at 12:30pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.[1][2]
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Three Rivers Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
San Diego Chargers versus Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of San Diego Chargers-Pittsburgh Steelers cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals | 7-2 | W2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6-3 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4-5 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 1-8 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 7-2 | W3 |
| New York Jets | 6-3 | L1 |
| New England Patriots | 5-4 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4-5 | L3 |
| Baltimore Colts | 0-8-1 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Raiders | 8-1 | W5 |
| San Diego Chargers | 6-3 | L1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4-5 | W1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 3-6 | W1 |
| Denver Broncos | 2-7 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 5-4 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4-5 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 3-6 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 2-7 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 5-3-1 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5-4 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-4 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 4-5 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 3-6 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Washington Redskins | 8-1 | W4 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6-3 | L2 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 5-4 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 4-5 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3-6 | L1 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Steelers | Guy Ruff special teams fumble recovery in end zone (Gary Anderson kick) | 0-7 |
| Chargers | Rolf Benirschke 25 yard field goal | 3-7 |
| Steelers | Terry Bradshaw 1 yard rush (Gary Anderson kick) | 3-14 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chargers | James Brooks 18 yard rush (Rolf Benirschke kick) | 10-14 |
| Chargers | Eric Sievers 10 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick) | 17-14 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Steelers | Bennie Cunningham 2 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Gary Anderson kick) | 17-21 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Steelers | John Stallworth 14 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Gary Anderson kick) | 17-28 |
| Chargers | Kellen Winslow 8 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick) | 24-28 |
| Chargers | Kellen Winslow 12 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick) | 31-28 |
San Diego Chargers defeated Pittsburgh Steelers 31-28 at Three Rivers Stadium in the Wild Card Round. The final scoring play was Chargers: Kellen Winslow 12 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick). The result came down to the final possession; San Diego Chargers won by 3. Top line of the day: Dan Fouts: 333 pass yards on 27-of-42, 3 TD, 0 INT. San Diego Chargers advance to the divisional round.[1][2]
San Diego Chargers walked out of Three Rivers Stadium as the team that survived a Wild Card Round Pittsburgh Steelers will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 31-28. The game stayed within 3 points throughout, the kind of contest where every drive felt like a referendum and every defensive stop carried twice its usual weight. The final scoring play came from Chargers: Kellen Winslow 12 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. San Diego Chargers advance to the divisional round.
San Diego Chargers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 28.
Round: Wild Card Round.
Q1: 3 scoring plays.
Q2: 2 scoring plays.
Q3: 1 scoring play.
Q4: 3 scoring plays.
Top performers:
- Dan Fouts: 333 pass yards on 27-of-42, 3 TD, 0 INT
- Chuck Muncie: 126 rush yards on 25 carries
- Wes Chandler: 9 catches for 124 yards
Wild Card Round, played at Three Rivers Stadium. Final: San Diego Chargers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 28, with San Diego Chargers taking the result by 3.
First quarter
- Steelers: Guy Ruff special teams fumble recovery in end zone (Gary Anderson kick)
- Chargers: Rolf Benirschke 25 yard field goal
- Steelers: Terry Bradshaw 1 yard rush (Gary Anderson kick)
Second quarter
- Chargers: James Brooks 18 yard rush (Rolf Benirschke kick)
- Chargers: Eric Sievers 10 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)
Third quarter
- Steelers: Bennie Cunningham 2 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Gary Anderson kick)
Fourth quarter
- Steelers: John Stallworth 14 yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Gary Anderson kick)
- Chargers: Kellen Winslow 8 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)
- Chargers: Kellen Winslow 12 yard pass from Dan Fouts (Rolf Benirschke kick)
Top performers
- Dan Fouts: 333 pass yards on 27-of-42, 3 TD, 0 INT
- Chuck Muncie: 126 rush yards on 25 carries
- Wes Chandler: 9 catches for 124 yards
A 3-point margin in Wild Card Round is the kind of result that defines reputations on both sidelines.
| Chargers | Steelers | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 29 | 26 |
| Total Yards | 479 | 422 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 27/42 | 28/39 |
| Pass yards | 333 | 325 |
| Pass TD | 3 | 2 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 2 |
| Sacks taken | 0 | 0 |
| Sack yards lost | 0 | 0 |
| Net pass yards | 333 | 325 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 29 | 23 |
| Rush yards | 146 | 97 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 3 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 2 | 0 |
| Penalties | 6 | 6 |
| Penalty yards | 51 | 54 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDG | |||||
| Dan Fouts | 27/42 | 333 | 3 | 0 | 112.5 |
| PIT | |||||
| Terry Bradshaw | 28/39 | 325 | 2 | 2 | 92.4 |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDG | ||||
| Chuck Muncie | 25 | 126 | 0 | 17 |
| James Brooks | 3 | 20 | 1 | 18 |
| John Cappelletti | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PIT | ||||
| Frank Pollard | 9 | 47 | 0 | 18 |
| Franco Harris | 10 | 35 | 0 | 7 |
| Terry Bradshaw | 2 | 12 | 1 | 11 |
| Greg Hawthorne | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDG | ||||
| Wes Chandler | 9 | 124 | 0 | 33 |
| Kellen Winslow | 7 | 102 | 2 | 30 |
| Charlie Joiner | 5 | 68 | 0 | 16 |
| Eric Sievers | 2 | 17 | 1 | 10 |
| Chuck Muncie | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Scott Fitzkee | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| James Brooks | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| John Cappelletti | 1 | -2 | 0 | -2 |
| PIT | ||||
| John Stallworth | 8 | 116 | 1 | 22 |
| Franco Harris | 11 | 71 | 0 | 17 |
| Bennie Cunningham | 5 | 55 | 1 | 16 |
| Jim Smith | 1 | 40 | 0 | 40 |
| Frank Pollard | 2 | 29 | 0 | 20 |
| Lynn Swann | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
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