Eric D. Williams, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Chargers No. 3 impact play of 2015: Le'Veon Bell's goal-line TD

SAN DIEGO -- In this series, we countdown the top 10 impact plays for the San Diego Chargers that helped shape the team’s 2015 season.

Situation: First-and-goal from the Chargers’ 1-yard line in a Week 5 contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.

Score: Chargers lead 20-17.

Time: Five seconds left in the game.

Williams’ take: All San Diego’s defense had to do was get off of the field against an offense led by Mike Vick, making his second start of the season in place of Ben Roethlisberger, who was out with a sprained left knee. Instead, with just over two minutes remaining, Vick led the Steelers down the field on a12-play, 80-yard drive for the winning score. With the game in the balance, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell took a direct snap and ran left. Bell was initially stopped short of the goal line by linebacker Donald Butler, but lunged forward and dove into the end zone, giving the Steelers an improbable 24-20 victory at Qualcomm Stadium.

Check out the play here.

Season impact: The Chargers held seven-point and three-point leads in the fourth quarter, but could not salt the game away. San Diego was 2-2 heading into the contest, but the setback to the Steelers was the start of a six-game losing streak. The Chargers lost 10 of last their 12 games, finishing the season at 4-12. San Diego’s inability to stop Bell at the goal line served as a catalyst for San Diego’s midseason slide into the cellar of the AFC West.

Quote: “I had to squeeze through. Coming from the back side, that’s hard to get in there, but they had been running that power all game. So it was just a matter of him doing what he does best, staying behind his blocks and squeezing in there.” -- Former Chargers linebacker Butler, on trying to keep Bell out of the end zone.

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