After Sunday’s 26-3 win over Carolina to improve to 2-0, the Chargers now will stay in Charlotte, N.C., all week and practice at UNC-Charlotte before flying to Pittsburgh on Saturday to play at the Steelers next Sunday.
Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh felt cutting back on traveling and staying on the East Coast was the best thing for his team.
“Getting the body clock right, cutting down on the travel time, not just in the air,” Harbaugh said. “That’s the main reason for doing it. The 10 a.m. West Coast body clock. Just what the studies have shown from people smarter than me.”
The Steelers-Chargers game is also a 1 p.m. kickoff, 10 a.m. Pacific Time.
“The 1 o’clock Eastern Time kickoff really necessitates — that’s 10 o-clock our time — getting acclimated to that,” Harbaugh said, via the Chargers official website. “Plus, the 20 or so hours of travel time.”
The Chargers would have compiled nearly 10,000 air miles if they traveled back and forth to Carolina and Pittsburgh. They’ll instead fly roughly 5,300 miles with staying in Charlotte ahead of Sunday’s game at Acrisure Stadium.
Harbaugh also thinks staying in Charlotte is a good opportunity for team bonding.
“I think it’s a great time to do it. It’s not the most ideal thing,” Harbaugh said. “I’m sure everybody would rather be sleeping in their own beds in their own house. There’s no reason why we can’t have some fun. Bring the board games and the snacks. It’s a team that enjoys each other’s company, too, from what I’ve noticed. I think there’s multiple positives we can get out of it.”
“We get to be all together again for a whole week, almost a la training camp-type of style,” Harbaugh added. “Definitely some team bonding to be had in that kind of environment where we’re all together.”
The Steelers are coming off a 13-6 win over the Broncos in Denver. The Steelers and Chargers are both 2-0 and have elite defenses. The Chargers have the top-ranked scoring defense (6.5 points per game) and the second-ranked total defense (227.5 yards per game). The Steelers are the second-ranked scoring defense (8 points per game) and fourth in total defense (270.5 yards per game).
The Chargers defense held quarterback Bryce Young and the Panthers to 84 yards passing and 1-for-12 on third down.