If the Steelers could not stop Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the fourth quarter of their previous game at home, wait until they get a look at two of their next three opponents.

San Diego and Cincinnati not only have two of the best and most balanced offenses in the league, their quarterbacks are the two most accurate in the NFL this season. After the past week off, the Steelers play Monday night in San Diego and, after a home game against Jacksonville, they play at Cincinnati Oct. 23.

Brady completed all 12 of his passes in the fourth quarter to bring the Patriots from behind to a 23-20 victory Sept. 25 in Heinz Field. Now the Steelers must go on the road to face quarterback Drew Brees and a San Diego team that made the champs look like chumps with a 41-17 victory in New England Sunday.

"They damn near look unstoppable," Steelers linebacker James Farrior said after watching the Chargers beat the Patriots.

Brees completed 19 of 24 passes for 248 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions Sunday. He ranks second in the NFL, completing 68.3 percent of his passes. No. 1 is Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer, who has completed 71.8 percent of his passes for the surprising 4-0 Bengals.

"It's amazing how you can go through a team's personnel and you can just look at all the Pro Bowlers they have," Steelers safety Chris Hope said. "You go to the next team and pretty much hear the same speech by coach Cowher: 'You'll never see a running back this good, you'll never see a quarterback throw the ball this accurate.' And then the next week he gives you the same speech."

Bill Cowher does not have to sell his point much, not after many of the Steelers saw the Chargers' victory at New England on television Sunday. Halfback LaDainian Tomlinson leads the AFC with 450 yards rushing, just 5 yards from the NFL lead. He averages 5.4 yards per carry and has scored eight touchdowns. Tomlinson did what the Steelers could not do against the Patriots by rushing for 135 yards on 25 carries. He's also a threat to catch the ball, having done so 53 times last season.

Antonio Gates, who led all tight ends with 13 touchdown catches among his 81 receptions last season, led the Chargers Sunday with six receptions for 108 yards.

"We're really going to have our hands full with those two guys," Farrior said. "They have two of the best in the league right now. I don't know which one we're going to pick to try to take out first, but there's got to be one of them. We can't let both of them kill us."

Brees is no Brady; he's playing better right now.

"He's very quick with the ball," defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said. "They do a good job of what they do with him. They move him all kinds of different ways. And he can throw it out of the pocket, out of play-action because they have such a strong threat with their running back. He's certainly one of the very best in the game. When you take his running and pass receiving and put it together, he's probably the top threat in the league now at that position."

In 2003, Tomlinson rushed for 1,645 yards and caught 100 passes for another 725 yards. He has only nine receptions in four games this year perhaps, as end Kimo von Oelhoffen noted, because "they don't have to throw the ball, just run it."

"They have a great offense," LeBeau said.

"They averaged 28 points a game last year. I wasn't aware of that until I researched it. That's a lot of points. They've got a lot of weapons. We'll have to play well against them."

Patriots third-down back Kevin Faulk caused problems for the Steelers in their previous game when he caught seven passes for 71 yards. Tomlinson can strike on the ground or in the air at any time.

"He has great hands, he runs good routes," Farrior said. "He could almost play receiver if they want him to. We have to be careful with that, too."

The Steelers were No. 1 against the run in the NFL last season. Today they rank 11th. If they have to pick one thing to stop first in San Diego, their choice is an obvious one, according to von Oelhoffen.

"You stop LaDainian Tomlinson, that's it. He's the one who can kill you. He's a player who can control the game, control the clock, control the course of the game. If that element is taken out, we can play with Brees a little bit."