LOS ANGELES — Coaches preach about preparing for all contingencies. Rarely has it been more accurate than what Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin and Los Angeles’ Brandon Staley are dealing with going into Sunday night’s pivotal AFC matchup.

Both teams have key players in COVID-19 protocols with a chance they could play this week.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is meeting virtually after testing positive last Saturday. Chargers outside linebacker Joey Bosa was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday as a close contact after Jerry Tillery had a positive test.

For Staley, preparing for two quarterbacks isn’t an additional layer of stress.

“Every game, you go into the plan saying, ‘OK, if this happens, then this person is in here and this is how the game is going to go.’ It’s part of your weekly routine,” he said. “This one just happens to be a little bit different because either one of them could play, where most of the time, when you’re preparing for a backup, it’s only in an emergency.”

Mason Rudolph found out he was starting last week’s game against Detroit less than 24 hours before kickoff. He completed 30 of 50 passes for 242 yards with a touchdown and interception in a 16-16 tie. The fourth-year signal caller said he is preparing as if he will start, but doesn’t know if that will be the case.

Meanwhile, Bosa has the best opportunity of being on the field for the prime-time contest. He could come off the list Saturday if he has tested negative for five straight days.

Both teams need a win as they try to emerge from a logjam of teams in the muddled AFC, where seven teams have five or six wins as Thanksgiving looms.

The Chargers (5-4) have dropped three of their last four as teams have found ways to contain quarterback Justin Herbert.

The Steelers (5-3-1) have the toughest remaining schedule in the league, but last week’s tie means they likely won’t be in any direct tiebreaker situations, which can be both a blessing and a curse. Tomlin insists it’s far too early to start scoreboard watching anyway.

“As long as you’re taking care of your in-stadium business, very rarely do you have to really look around and wonder what’s going on around you,” he said. “Over the course of last month, I and we have probably done very little of that because we’ve been taking care of our business.”

The Thin Outside Line (backers)

The Steelers traded veteran outside linebacker Melvin Ingram to Kansas City earlier this month, gambling they had enough depth without Ingram to survive.

That depth is about to be tested with Watt dealing with hip and leg injuries suffered when he sacked Detroit’s Jared Goff last week.

If Watt can’t play, that leaves the Steelers with three true outside linebackers in Alex Highsmith, Taco Charlton and Derrek Tuszka. Watt has 62 career sacks. Highsmith, Charlton and Tuszka have 14 1/2 combined.

“Whether they’re ready or not, they’re gonna have to (be ready),” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said. “We can’t wait on them. They’ve got to come out and they’ve got to know what we ask them to do. They’re getting better in terms of that. ... They’ve gotten a lot more reps this past week, so hopefully we’ll be OK with those guys. They understand what we’re trying to get done.”

The Chargers remain last in the league in run defense, but their numbers have improved over the past month. They are allowing 4.1 yards per carry in the past four games compared to 5.6 the first five weeks.