The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off their first loss since September.

Now they will have to overcome one of the league’s most difficult remaining schedules in order to contend for one of the top two seeds in the AFC.

Next up for the Steelers is a date with the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football. Pittsburgh still has games against the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints left on its schedule.

Philip Rivers has led the Chargers to wins in seven of their last eight games.

At 8-3, L.A. is just one game back of the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC’s best record.

The Steelers and Chargers both rank in the NFL’s top-five in total offence.

With the total set at 51.5 points for Sunday’s contest, this should be one of the higher-scoring games for Week 13.

Pittsburgh ranks fourth in the NFL with an average of 420.8 yards per game. Ben Roethlisberger’s 3,664 passing yards is the second-most in the league behind Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. Roethlisberger has averaged 388.0 passing yards per game over his last two contests.

While he has consistently moved the football downfield, the Steelers need him to do a better job of protecting the football. Roethlisberger has thrown 12 interceptions this season and five of them have come in his last two games. He was picked off twice in last week’s 24-17 loss to the Denver Broncos, including one on a third-and-goal with less than 30 seconds left in regulation to seal the loss.

Pittsburgh is an NFL-best 20-3 in December and January games dating back to 2013. In order for that trend to continue this Sunday, Roethlisberger needs to cut down on the turnovers that hurt the Steelers in a close 20-16 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 11 and then cost them last week against the Broncos.

On the other side of the football, Rivers is coming off the most efficient game by an NFL quarterback ever after completing 28-of-29 pass attempts with three touchdowns in a 45-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals. His 96.6 completion percentage was the highest single-game total in NFL history.

Rivers has been extremely efficient this season, completing 69.5 per cent of his pass attempts for 3,119 yards and 26 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He will need to be at his absolute best to beat Pittsburgh on the road in prime time this weekend.

Another key factor for the Chargers is the play of running backs Austin Ekeler and rookie Justin Jackson with Melvin Gordon sidelined. Gordon ranks eighth in the NFL with 1,255 yards from scrimmage. He has scored a touchdown in each of L.A.’s eight wins this season. Ekeler and Jackson have flashed their potential in limited touches, averaging a combined 5.8 yards per carry on 82 touches. Now they will be leaned on against a Steelers defence that ranks in the top-10 in rushing yards allowed per game (101.8).

While Pittsburgh has one of the most difficult schedules, L.A. has benefited from a slate that has included just three teams that currently own a winning record to this point. Early in the season, the Chargers suffered double-digit losses at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams. L.A.’s lone win over a team with a winning record came in Week 9, when they beat the Seattle Seahawks 25-17.

The Chargers have an opportunity to earn a statement win in order to keep the pressure on Kansas City at the top of the AFC. Meanwhile, the Steelers remain focused on earning the AFC’s second seed after falling out of the No. 2 spot following last week’s loss to Denver.

Barring late season collapses, both teams should be able to comfortably lock up playoff spots.  

Still, this Sunday Night Football matchup could have major implications in terms of how the AFC playoff picture sets up.