On this week’s episode of the Powderkeg Podcast, I took a deep dive into an intriguing tactical tweaks we saw in the Chargers’ gritty Week 10 win over against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman quietly unveiled a fresh wrinkle in his ground game by getting to heavy personnel concepts from 11 personnel, something I called for in my analysis of the win over the Minnesota Vikings last Thursday Night.

This may seem like a subtle adjustment but it worked against a tough-nosed Steeler defense despite the size disadvantage it carries, and it could therefore end up playing a bigger role down the stretch of this season. Over the last few weeks we have seen a multitude of ground game approaches; from the pin/pull that worked against the Vikings using heavy personnel to the light box outside tackle zone concepts against the Dolphins. So when you add the new method of attack they showed against the Steelers, you can start to see how the diversified run game can provide Greg Roman with multiple ways to win. This will be especially relevant when it comes to the postseason.

The play below was my favorite from the plays I broke down because it represented that Roman has figured out how to turn his most potent heavy personnel plays without signposting it with heavy personnel on the field. The key in unlocking this development has been the revelation of Tre Harris as a run blocker. You’ll see in the video breakdown how Greg Roman and Andy Bischoff have utilized his blocking skills in a similar way to how the Rams use Puka Nacua and how the Seahawks use Cooper Kupp.

In this breakdown I explored how Roman blended formation tendencies, motion, and blocking variations combined to keep Pittsburgh’s front guessing, and how those strategic shifts created the decisive running lanes that helped the Bolts salt away the statement win. I took out my pens to do a live mark-up to walk you through exactly why these calls worked and what they might signal for the Chargers’ offense moving forward.

Use the link hosted within the image below to be taken to the video on Youtube or alternatively click here.

Also I’d really appreciate if you could give me some feedback on whether you found this format more engaging as this is something I am looking to do more often if it lands well.