Steelers fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief following Sunday's 38-28 victory over the San Diego Chargers.

No, not because of the near fourth-quarter collapse by the defense, which would have been the third in a row, but the season was saved.

In 2008, after a 15-6 loss to Philadelphia in which Steelers quarterbacks were sacked nine times and got very little offense, the team trailed Baltimore by 10 points early in the third quarter before scoring two quick touchdowns for a 23-20 victory.

That win improved the team to 3-1 instead of 2-2 and gave the Steelers an added boost of confidence on their way to their sixth Super Bowl title.

Fast forward to this year, when the Steelers suffered back-to-back losses to Chicago and Cincinnati in the final minute after blowing second-half leads.

A loss to San Diego would have dropped the team to 1-3 and the talk of the Super Bowl hangover would have started to ring true.

Instead, the team came out and stunned San Diego, grabbing a 21-0 halftime lead and building a 28-0 lead midway through the third quarter.

The comeback notwithstanding, the Steelers held off the Chargers, which is a step in the right direction.

What the Steelers need to do now is step back, take a deep breath and move forward. Obviously, having a 2-2 record after four weeks is much better than 1-3, when you would be looking at a minimum of two weeks to get back to .500, then you'd still have to make up ground on anyone who has a better record, especially in the same division.

The Ravens' 27-21 loss to the New England Patriots was huge because it cut Baltimore's lead in the AFC North to one game, the same as the Bengals,' who needed a field goal in overtime to slip past Cleveland.

As I mentioned last week, the Steelers were sitting at 1-2 and were in a five-way tie for eighth place in the AFC.

The win on Sunday improved that to a four-way tie for seventh place, as the four division winners plus the two best wild-card get playoff berths.

Only Indianapolis and Denver at 4-0 and the Patriots, Ravens, Bengals and New York Jets at 3-1 sport better records than the Steelers. The Chargers, Jacksonville and Houston are at 2-2 along with Pittsburgh.

If the Steelers can find a way to finish teams off, they will be sitting much better in two weeks. Games against Detroit (1-3) and Cleveland (0-4) are up next, so a 4-2 mark won't be out of the question.

Wins against those teams are imperative. There are so few teams in the NFL that are weak, but those two are at the top of the list right now. A slip could send the Steelers backward and force an even longer climb back uphill.

The return of Troy Polamalu in either of those games should bolster the defense and keep the Steelers moving in the right direction, which would be up in the standings.

Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.