Midway through the third quarter of the Steelers-Chargers game on Sunday night, I started pounding away at a post dedicated to how Pittsburgh silenced its critics with a dominating victory over San Diego.

Seriously, I was finished outside of adding the final score and some stats. And it was good too. It was about how the Steelers got back to their grass roots while running the ball down the Chargers’ throats, controlling the time of possession and finally playing four quarters. At the time, Pittsburgh was up 28-0 and the game was essentially over as San Diego was on life support.

Then Jacob Hester made an incredible play early in the fourth when he stripped Stefan Logan on a punt return and raced 41 yards into the end zone to cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 28-14.

No problem I thought, a couple extra sentences ought to cover me as the Steelers answered Hester’s touchdown with one of their own to make it 35-14.

Then the journalism gods decided to punish me for writing a recap when the freaking game wasn’t even finished, because the Chargers got within one touchdown of the Steelers late in the fourth before Pittsburgh iced the game with a 46-yard Jeff Reed field goal to give the Steelers a 38-28 victory.

Annnnnnnnnddddd delete.

In reality, not much changed from the time the Steelers were up 28-0 to the time they walked away with a 38-28 win. They still dominated a hapless San Diego run defense by racking up 177 yards on the ground (Rashard Mendenhall finally strapped on the big boy pants and rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries) and kept the ball for 40 minutes and 20 seconds, compared to the Chargers’ 19 minutes and 40 seconds.

Pittsburgh dominated this game, but it can’t sit well with Mike Tomlin that his team nearly had another fourth quarter collapse. The Steelers can’t figure out a way to put their opponents away and I don’t know if that’s coaching or if the players are at fault for letting up. Either way, it’s a troubling sign so far for a defending Super Bowl champion that has split its first four games of the season and has looked rather mediocre.

Nevertheless, the Steelers earned their second victory of the year and did so by running the ball. Granted, Ben Roethlisberger looked great and the pass protection was outstanding, but this is a team that needs to run the football when the weather starts to turn and Pittsburgh did so tonight.

As for the Chargers, I applaud them for making it close in the end, but Norv Turner’s bunch didn’t show up until seven minutes left in the third when Hester gave them a spark. They were completely dominated in most phases of the game and all of a sudden they have zero running game. For a team that was supposed to walk away with the AFC West, San Diego barely looks like a .500 team right now.

It was bound to happen.

Mark Sanchez couldn’t continue to play like he was Joe Montana week after week without suffering a setback. The Saints proved to be Sancehz’s setback on Sunday by constantly harassing the rookie into three huge mistakes in the New Orleans’ 24-14 victory at the Superdome.

Sanchez’s first mistake came early in the second quarter when Darren Sharper intercepted his pass on the goal line, then returned it 99 yards for a touchdown. Two possessions later while backed up to his own end zone, Sanchez held onto the ball too long on a 2 and 7 from the 5-yard line and was sacked by Will Smith. Remi Ayodele recovered the fumble in the end zone to give the Saints a 17-0 lead early in the second.

Down 14 points with about five minutes remaining, Sanchez made his final mistake on a desperation fourth down play in which he was once again intercepted by Sharper. For as much swagger as Sanchez had played with throughout the year, he looked like a beaten rookie on Sunday.

This loss doesn’t fall squarely on the shoulders of Sanchez, though. New York offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer didn’t do the rookie any favors by failing to offer him max protection when the Saints proved early in the game that they could generate a pass rush with only their four down linemen. On multiple occasions, Charles Grant came off the edge untouched and forced Sanchez to scramble in attempt to make something happen.

It’s great that the Jets have confidence in Sanchez to make plays in the passing game, but Schottenheimer’s play-calling was atrocious and he should re-visit how he plans on protecting his quarterback in future weeks.

For the Saints, this win further proved their elite status in the NFL. Drew Brees and the passing game was held in check throughout the game, but Pierre Thomas and the Saints’ rushing attack racked up 153 yards and often kept the chains moving. Hopefully Sean Payton was paying attention to how hard Thomas ran throughout the game, so he doesn’t continue to leave the talented back on the sidelines in short-yardage situations.

The Saints defense has improved dramatically this season. Sharper has played like a man possessed and veterans like Roman Harper and Jabari Greer have stepped up in the secondary. New Orleans’ front four is as good as anyone in the league, too.

The NFC South is the Saints to lose, if not the conference.

Quick, name the best team in the AFC.

The Patriots? Too many flaws, especially on defense.

The Ravens? Maybe now that they have an offense to match their defense, but their loss in New England on Sunday raised more concerns about their receiving corps.

The Jets? As of this writing, the Saints are making Mark Sanchez look an awfully lot like a rookie starting in his first season. But if they come back and earn a win in New Orleans, then Rex Ryan’s team certainly makes a case that they’re the best in the conference.

The answer to the proposed question, my friends, may very well be the Indianapolis Colts. I understand that this might not be a fair time to ask a question like this given that they had a free win against the banged up Seahawks on Sunday, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Peyton Manning and his offense looks unstoppable, or that Indy’s defense is faster and more aggressive under new coordinator Larry Coyer.

One could certainly make the argument that the Colts haven’t faced anyone this season with wins over the Jaguars, Dolphins, Cardinals and Seahawks. But in each of their wins, Manning has thrown for over 300 yards and has run Tom Moore’s version of the no-huddle offense to near perfection.

There is some concern that the defense will wear down because of the offense’s quick-hit approach, and the running game has almost been non-existent. But as long as the Colts stay close, Manning is going to give them an opportunity to win in the fourth quarter.

The schedule is incredibly favorable for Indianapolis over the next couple weeks. They’re at Tennessee next week, have a bye in Week 6 and then play the Rams in Week 7. Their first true challenge of the year might not come until Week 8 when they host the ever-improving 49ers.

Things are set up for the Colts to streak to the playoffs again this year. And with an improved defense, the sky appears to be the limit for this team.

If Ozzie Newsome doesn’t get Joe Flacco some receivers, he’s going to wind up wasting his young quarterback’s talents.

Baltimore receivers dropped two passes inside the Patriots’ 20-yard line at the end of New England’s 27-21 win on Sunday, which cost the Ravens an opportunity to stay undefeated.

Derrick Mason’s drop on 3rd and 4 from the 14-yard line with 35 seconds left was bad, but also forgivable considering the defender bumped him from behind right as the pass hit his chest. But Mark Clayton’s drop on the very next play was inexcusable because Flacco hit him right in the numbers and it served as the death nail for the Ravens.

But let’s give credit where credit is due – this was an impressive victory by the Patriots, although not so much defensively. Baltimore racked up 363 total yards and moved the ball at will, but Tom Brady found a way to move the ball against a good Ravens defense despite not having a running game.

One thing New England did do well defensively was confuse Flacco with various blitzes, which often caused him to throw off his back foot and not set his feet. Leigh Bodden produced a big interception in the red zone at the end of the first half because Flacco couldn’t set his feet while rushing to get the ball out of his hands. That’s just a case of Bill Belichick’s front seven getting the job done.

The Pats still have plenty of flaws, but they’ve beaten two playoff teams in the Falcons and Ravens the past two weeks and face the winless Titans and Bucs in two of their next three games. If they can beat the Broncos in Denver next week and pick up wins over Tennessee and Tampa before their bye, they’ll be 6-1 and filled with confidence heading into the second half of the year.

If the Tennessee Titans were to make a list of the problems they’ve had this year, Kerry Collins wouldn’t be in the top 5. A horrid pass defense, the inability to convert third downs, and turnovers would be near the top. (All three were on full display on Sunday as the Jaguars crushed the Titans 37-17.)

But the Titans need a spark and at 0-4, it might be time for Jeff Fisher to go back to Vince Young, who played himself out of the starting lineup following a mental breakdown in the opening week of 2008.

Young won’t solve all of the Titans’ issues, if any of them. Even if he did play well, the secondary still has massive issues and Tennessee would have to cut down on the turnovers. But he might be able to keep the chains moving with his legs and give the Titans an opportunity to sustain drives.

Collins has proven in the early going that he can’t keep the offense on the field, particularly in the first half. That has allowed opponents to get their offenses on the field and take advantage of Tennessee’s problems in the secondary. In the last two weeks, the Titans have found themselves down by 10 or more points in the first quarter because of turnovers or the offense’s inability to pick up first downs.

Again, Young won’t be a cure-all, but Fisher has to do something because the players look like they’re quitting on the season. And for a team that started ’08 10-0, there’s just no excuse for that.