Chargers RB Gordon has sprained MCL in right knee

Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon is considered week-to-week with a sprained MCL in his right knee, the team announced Monday. "I was very relieved (when I found out) because I've had MCL (sprains) and I know you can recover quickly from those, and Melvin is a fast healer," Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said. "I was very relieved. When I saw it happen on the field, it looked pretty nasty. I thought he came out on the good end of this one." Gordon was injured on a reverse early in the second half of Sunday's 45-10 victory over the Arizona Carddinals, with a leg whip by defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche taking him down for a 10-yard loss. Los Angeles (8-3) was leading 28-10 at the time. "That's a play that we've had in for a long time," Lynn said. "We've been trying to get it called in a game. Melvin loves the play, and we were not taking our foot off the gas pedal. "It's a play if he gets around the perimeter, he may still be running. But they made a heck of a play and hit us in the backfield." Gordon, 25, has a team-leading 802 rushing yards on 153 carries for a 5.2 per-carry average. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Gordon also has 44 catches for 453 receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns (nine rushing, four receiving) on the season. Austin Ekeler received the bulk of the work when Gordon departed the contest. Ekeler has carried 70 times for 409 yards, averaging an impressive 5.8 yards per carry with one touchdown. He's also caught 32 passes for 354 yards and three touchdowns. "Austin was already plugged in at what we are doing right now (with) inside, outside (and) special plays," Lynn said. "It won't change at all.... He's a smaller back, but he's our pound-for-pound strongest young man on the team. I have no problem bouncing him in between tackles." The second-year back and rookies Josh Jackson and Detrez Newsome will see a boost in playing time should Gordon be unavailable to play Sunday (8:20 p.m. ET) versus the host Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3-1). Jackson carried seven times for 57 yards, averaging an 8.1 yard per carry average against the Cardinals. --DE Joey Bosa had two sacks against the Cardinals. He has the fourth-most multi-sack games (seven) in the NFL since entering the league in 2016. He finished Sunday with five total tackles, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits. --RB Austin Ekeler had five carries for 35 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals. He added 10 receptions for 68 yards. --RB Melvin Gordon (1,255) went over 1,200 scrimmage yards on the season, extending his streak to three seasons with 1,200 yards from scrimmage and at least 10 total touchdowns, the longest active streak in the NFL. --K Michael Badgley made all six extra points and set a team mark for the most points scored by a kicker (39) through the first five games of his career without a missed field goal. With his field goal in the fourth quarter, he passed George Blair for the most points by a Chargers kicker through five career games (42). --S Derwin James now has two interceptions, 3 1/2 sacks and nine pass defenses in his rookie season.