LOS ANGELES -- It's impossible to deny that the Chargers have had a strange season. By any measure, they have been inconsistent on offense, a disaster on defense and have suffered the most puzzling losses in the NFL. And while those individual concerns probably wouldn't cripple most teams, there are other issues at play here. The Chargers' performance against the Steelers on Sunday (8:30 p.m. ET, CBS) was just the latest example of the team's inconsistency and the issues they have dealt with in seemingly every quarter of a game this season. What's it going to take for the Chargers to make a push for a playoff berth? Watch the video above to find out. "They showed up [in Week 6], we showed up [in Week 7], and we've just kept going from there," linebacker Jarret Johnson said. "It doesn't really matter what time of year it is, who we're playing. We've just got to show up. It can't be that we're waiting until the last minute. We've got to do everything we can to get this thing right now." It's tough to talk about the Chargers' inconsistent performance this season without throwing some negativity into the discussion. If you're going to take the good with the bad, you have to be honest about what the good is. The positive from the Chargers' point of view is they started fast and won their first two games. But they have since gone 4-5 and dropped three games by seven or fewer points. They've lost two overtime games, one to a division rival and another to a team that entered the week with a 1-10 record. And if you're keeping score at home, the Chargers are going to have to win out to finish .500 against the teams they are chasing -- the Cardinals, Bengals and Colts. "We have got to make plays. They made some plays that we didn't make and we've got to make those plays," Johnson said. "All of that comes down to us just doing our jobs." The Chargers' biggest problem has been the injuries at key positions. Their running game has been inconsistent and their defense is ranked 27th overall. Defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, who was named interim head coach for the rest of the season after Norv Turner was fired Oct. 29, said he hasn't been able to be as aggressive as he'd like because he can't trust anyone to fill in when injuries strike. Chargers QB Philip Rivers threw an interception in the end zone late in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks on Nov. 19. Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images The list of injured players is extensive. Starting wide receivers Malcom Floyd and Vincent Brown, running backs Ryan Mathews and Ronnie Brown, center Nick Hardwick and safeties Eric Weddle and Atari Bigby have all missed significant time. "You have to play with a bunch of different people," Chargers running back Ronnie Brown said. "You can't just have the guys you want on the field." Brown, a veteran who has been through these seasons before, thinks the Chargers' inconsistency is more of a mental issue than anything else. They know how to win, but they just haven't been able to put it all together when the game is on the line. "For us right now, we know exactly how to prepare for every game. What I'm saying is that we've got to be able to go out there and do it," Brown said. "That's on me. I've got to be able to do it on a consistent basis for us to get the wins that we want." Floyd is the Chargers' most important player, and while he remains out of the lineup, it is the rest of the team that's been inconsistent. And while many players have played well at times, no one knows how they would react when the pressure was on. "As I've said, we've got to make plays," Rivera said. "As individuals, they may do things they didn't do before. But collectively, that's all you have. You have to make those plays collectively as a unit. And if you don't do it as a unit, then you don't." The injuries and inconsistencies will come in handy if the Chargers can use them to their advantage in the postseason. There is no way to tell where they'll end up. But all the players, coaches and fans know what needs to be done to win. "Win," Rivera said. "All those things are up to you." The Chargers want to beat the Steelers in order to get to the playoffs and earn a bye for a wild-card spot. But they can't bank on a bye and have to prepare to make the playoffs with the most difficult part of the schedule ahead of them. "Right now we know exactly what we have to do," Johnson said. "They just got to go out there and do it." There is no need to sugarcoat the issues that the Chargers have faced in recent weeks. But the positive is that they know what needs to be done to be a better football team. And with the right kind of preparation and mental toughness, the Chargers could get hot at the right time. If that happens, the team that was nearly winless in November and December could be primed for a playoff push. That doesn't mean this season will end well, but the Chargers have a chance to prove their doubters wrong. And they are hoping that the injuries and inconsistencies they have dealt with this season have taught them what they need to do. "We got a huge challenge ahead of us. We got the opportunity to go out and get one of the AFC's two wild-card spots," Johnson said. "We're going to take care of business, and I'm telling you, we're going to make some things happen."