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The Pittsburgh Steelers rolled over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 6, and while the 24-17 final score does not reflect it, this game was ugly for LA. They stormed back with 17 points in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough.
Normally when a team falls behind 24-0 heading into the fourth quarter, the home fans start heading for the exits. For this Sunday Night Football contest, things went a little different. The Chargers long struggled to build a home field advantage in San Diego, and since moving to Carson while they await their new shared stadium with the Rams, things have managed to get worse.
On Sunday, Steelers fans completely overwhelmed Dignity Health Sports Park and the Chargers players felt it. They were loud and boisterous, and an ill-timed music choice reenforced the insanity of the situation for the Chargers players.
The in-stadium entertainment team started playing the Styx song “Renegade.” That is a Steelers theme song at Heinz Field, and according to the report from the game, it was a setup to eventually Rick-Roll the fans with Rick Astley’s song, “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
It is a funny idea in theory, but in practice when the opposing team has taken over your stadium, it’s not so fun.
A football team normally gets 2.5 or three points in the point spread for playing at home. Oddsmakers generally give the Chargers less than that because home field is just not a big thing for them. There is upside to getting to sleep in your own bed and not deal with flying to the city, but come game time, the fan support is just not there for them.
Eventually the Chargers will move into their new stadium in Inglewood, but will they be able to build a serious home field advantage. It seems unlikely given the franchise’s history. And it could result in continuing to adjust your betting expectations when considering them at home.
The Chargers head back on the road for much of the next month. They travel to Tennessee and Chicago before hosting Green Bay and then traveling up the state to Oakland. They then host Kansas City in Week 11 before their bye week.
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