Steelers should have had 18 more seconds for final drive against Chargers

All’s well that ends well.

That’s why you’re probably not hearing too many Pittsburgh Steelers fans complaining Tuesday morning, despite learning after their team’s last-second win over the San Diego Chargers the previous night that there should have been 18 more seconds on the clock for their final drive.

But if Le’Veon Bell hadn’t found his way into the end zone on the final play for a 24-20 Steelers victory, rest assured there would be plenty of moaning and groaning from Steelers Nation.

And rightfully so. The Chargers kicked a field goal to take a 20-17 lead with 2:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. The ensuing kickoff went into the end zone for a touchback, so no time should have been run off the clock before the next play.

But for some reason when the Steelers took their first snap of that final drive, the game clock read 2:38. According to ESPN.com, the clock could be seen running down onscreen during the “Monday Night Football� broadcast and on the Qualcomm Stadium scoreboard, and the discrepancy in the times can be seen in the game’s box score.

Somehow, 18 seconds disappeared into thin air -- and no one in any position to do anything about it seemed to notice.

The NFL acknowledged the “error by the clock operator� in a statement by league spokesperson Michael Signora on Tuesday morning.

Signora said “it is the responsibility of the side judge to supervise the timing of the game� and added, “Had the side judge or any of the other six on-field officials noticed the timing error, they could have corrected it.�

Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin said the error “didn’t change the outcome of the game.�

Still, those extra seconds would have made things a little less nerve-wracking for the Steelers and their fans as time expired and Bell was fighting his way into the end zone in a do-or-die situation.

Which brings up another question: Why call a play that will surely use up all the time left on the clock when there are other, less risky options that would have allowed the Steelers to use their final timeout and kick a potential tying field goal if necessary?

Well, you know what they say -- all’s well that ends well.