1982 did see the Steelers sign a rookie placekicker from Syracuse named Gary Anderson, claiming him off waivers from Buffalo just before the start of the season.

Brooks frantically struggled to get control of the ball that was bouncing around on the cold turf as the Steelers special teams was quickly advancing towards him.

Unfortunately, for Brooks and the Chargers the ball was recovered by Steelers LB-Gary Ruff in the end zone to give Pittsburgh a quick 7–0 lead after only 12-seconds into the contest.

Now down by 11-points with 5-minutes left in the 1st-quarter, the Chargers finally handled the kick return without a major incident occurring, then drove the ball down the field resulting in James Brooks self-redeeming 18-yard rushing touchdown early in the 2nd-quarter to make it a 14–10 game, and once again pulling within just 4-points of the Steelers.

Then, after a quick Steelers possession and a punt, the Chargers put together a long time consuming offensive drive that came to a disappointing end after CB-Mel Blount recovered a fumble by TE-Kellen Winslow at the Pittsburgh 7-yard line.

With the ball back, Bradshaw drove the Steelers offense to the Chargers 29-yard line, until he threw a long pass that sailed way over the head of a leaping WR-Lynn Swann.

The Chargers SS-Bruce Laired intercepted Bradshaw's over thrown pass at the 3-yard line and returned it to their own 35, where San Diego's offense went back to work with 2-minutes left in the half.

With new life, Fouts moved the Chargers offense down the field for their 1st-score in the 2nd-half that came on an 8-yard TD pass to Winslow with 8:50 left in the game, that once again cut the Steelers seemingly insurmountable 11-point lead to within 4-points.

Now feeling the pressure of holding on to a tenuous 28–24 lead, the Steelers needed a solid offensive possession and score to finally secure the win.

While the Steelers were able to grind out a few time consuming 1st-downs to get close to midfield, John Goodson, an eighth-round draft pick who replaced veteran Craig Colquitt after he suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason, had to come on to punt.

Then, with 1-minute left to play, Fouts threw a 12-yard screen-pass to Winslow for the winning touchdown, making the final score 31–28, and eliminating the Steelers from the tournament.