Game Prelude

The Rams were without their two top running backs due to injury coming into this game. Plus, Rams starting cornerback Derion Kendrick had been arrested on gun charges a week earlier but released. But the Rams had the potent receiving duo of perennial star Cooper Kupp and rookie sensation Puka Nacua. Could Pittsburgh’s defense contain both of these receivers?

The Steelers were relatively healthy following the bye week. Diontae Johnson had been activated from injured reserve. But Pat Freiermuth aggravated his hamstring injury, forcing the Steelers to place him on injured reserve. Plus, many Steelers fans were reveling in Los Angeles in the days leading up to the game.

The big question was whether the Pittsburgh offense could finally get on track. The Steelers offense averaged just 13 points a game before the bye. Would we hear chants of “Fire Matt Canada” during the game?

General Sports Bars

I played a round of golf with my sons Sunday. But bid them adieu after just nine holes to catch the game. The NFL business model of selling seasonal packages to individuals and charging bars and restaurants by their seating capacity has destroyed a lot of smaller Steelers bars. I ended up going to the Crystal City Sports Pub since I was already in Virginia. A general sports bar, I saw about a dozen Steelers fans there. But we were scattered around a large main floor with fans from all over. I ended up at a table with a Giants fan and two guys from Nebraska who were more interested in baseball and college football. Very nice guys. And the pub has good food and drink for reasonable prices with dozens of screens scattered over three floors. But I prefer to be among my own tribe on gamedays.

I miss the days when the D.C. metropolitan area had a dozen or more small venues that catered to Steelers fans. Almost all are gone within the past 15 years for a variety of reasons.

Steelers Offense

Pittsburgh’s offense started slow. But finished strong.

Another Slow First Half

Pittsburgh had six possessions in the first half. Pittsburgh punted four times and scored just three points in a slow first half.

The Steelers started the game with a three and out. Najee Harris ran well with runs for eight and six yards but killed the second drive by trying to get around the end instead of cutting it up through a small hole for a short gain. The five-yard loss made it 3rd and 9 instead of a first down or third and short. Steelers punted. Diontae Johnson opens up the Steelers’ third possession with a 14-yard reception. Najee gains 17 yards on two carries, but then Kenny Pickett is sacked on first down. Then on 3rd and 9, Diontae goes 19 yards. But George Pickens’ blindside block nullifies the play. Instead of first and goal from the 8, the Steelers settled for a field goal for a 3-0 lead.

The Rams tied the game. The Steelers tried to respond with 5:56 to play in the half. Pickens with a 20-yard reception.

Kenny Pickett under pressure throws ball away but it is intentional grounding. Los Angeles scored on the ensuing drive to make the score 9-3 at the half after kicker doinked the point after attempt.

Strong Second-Half Finish

The offense exploits a takeaway. Scores touchdowns on all three trips to the red zone. Three fourth-quarter drives to take the lead and finish strong in the victory formation.

The Steelers’ offense came off the bench 16 seconds into the second half. T.J. Watt intercepts and hands the ball to the offense at the 7-yard line. Najee almost caught for a loss on a screen play. He stays inbounds and leaps a defender to land at the 1-yard line. Pickett sneaks it in for the touchdown and a 10-9 lead.

The Rams retake a 17-10 lead. Chuks Okorafor caught holding, putting the Steelers’ second drive in the hole. Punt. But Rams kicker Brett Maher missed the field goal attempt. Pittsburgh gets the ball at its own 41 for their third possession near the end of the third quarter. Pittsburgh opens the fourth quarter with a 39-yard completion to Diontae Johnson on 3rd and 8.

Warren runs twice. The second a 13-yard touchdown scamper. It’s a tie game at 17.

Two Strong Drives Only Marred By Dumb Penalties

The Steelers get the ball back at their 20 after the defense forces the Rams to punt. Pickens gains 18 yards to the 38 yard-line but is penalized for taunting. So, the play only nets three yards. Warren runs for six to set up 3rd and 1. Then Pickett sneaks it over for first down. Nothing fancy. Pickett connects on a 21-yard pass to Pickens. Two Najee runs gain 15. An 11-yard pass to Diontae. Then an 11-yard pass to Connor Heyward takes the ball to the 3. Najee finishes it with a touchdown run. Steelers lead 24-17 with 7:20 to play.

The offense gets the ball a final time with 5:28 to play with a one-score lead. On 3rd and 3, Pickett to Pickens for 31 yards near midfield. Pittsburgh runs twice causing Sean McVay to expend the Rams’ final timeouts with still 3:03 to play. On 3rd and 8, Pickett threw an incomplete pass to Diontae Johnson. Former Steelers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon is flagged for defensive pass interference, but Diontae negates the first down by taunting Witherspoon. The penalties offset and it’s 3rd and 8 again. Allen Robinson II catches a pass and is just a yard short of a first down. Kenny Pickett sneaks for the first down. He may have been short. But since McVay used the Rams’ timeouts and it was still outside the two minute warning, the Rams could not challenge the spot. The game is over except for three kneel downs in the victory formation.

Wonderful finish except the offense had to overcome two dumb penalties.

Steelers Defense

The defense kept the game close. Gave up three long drives. But a huge takeaway at the start of the second half shifted the momentum of the game.

Defense Bends But Keeps It Close

Former Steelers lineman Kevin Dotson helped out with a hold to create a 3rd and 14 on the Rams’ first possession. Larry Ogunjobi sacked Matthew Stafford on the very next play to force a punt. On the next possession, newly activated RB Royce Freeman gained 24 yards on three carries. Puka Nacua added 30 more on a short pass reception over the middle. The defense stiffened with hard tackles by Kwon Alexander then Minkah Fitzpatrick. Brett Maher missed a 53-yard field goal that doinked off the left upright.

The Rams’ third drive started near the start of the second quarter following a Steelers field goal. On 3rd and 11, Stafford connected deep for 24 yards to Cooper Kupp. But the Steelers defense turned up the pressure on Stafford. He threw the ball away and was called for intentional grounding. Then Coleman Shelton got caught holding. The two penalties make it 2nd and 30. Chandon Sullivan drops Nacua for just a one-yard gain. Then Keanu Neal and Cole Holcomb combine to stop a receiver for a 5-yard gain to preserve the slim 3-0 lead.

Defense Began To Bend

But the Steelers defense began to bend after Nick Herbig attained his first career sack. On another 3rd-and-11 play, Stafford hit Nacua for 22 yards. The defense stops the Rams running game but Clay Holcomb hobbles off the field. Stafford throws incomplete to Nacua with Joey Porter Jr. in defense. Rams tied it up with a field goal.

Here is a clip of Herbig’s first career sack:

Rams’ last possession of the half started at their own 12 with 3:46 to play. Darrell Henderson runs twice for seven yards. On 3rd and 3 Nacua catches a 36-yard pass with Damontae Kazee finally bringing him down at the two-minute warning. Henderson runs three straight times for 14 yards. Stafford throws deep to Tutu Atwell for a 31-yard touchdown. Levi Wallace lost his coverage on Atwell, who catches the ball and steps in for the score. The lobbed pass could have been intercepted with better coverage. Rams up 9-3 after Maher misses point after attempt.

Second Half Starts With A Bang

The game momentum shifted on the very first play of the second half. T.J. Watt dropped into coverage and intercepted Stafford’s first-down pass. He returned the interception to the 7-yard line. Pickett scored and suddenly the Steelers were up 10-9.

Just watch Watt on this play:

Officials penalized Watt for encroaching the neutral zone on a 3rd-and-3 play to extend the Rams’ next drive. Then Stafford threw deep to Puka Nacua, who caught the ball as Levi Wallace and Minkah Fitzpatrick shoved him out of bounds. Mike Tomlin challenged but a freeze-frame showed his toe just inside the line as the rest of his foot came to rest on it. The reviewers just as easily could have frozen the image showing his foot on the line.

Regardless, an incredible 32-yard reception.

The Rams used their first timeout. Steelers fans very loud. Stafford goes back to Nacua for another 20. Three straight plays to Henderson from 1st and goal at the 8. He eventually scores. Then Kupp catches the two-point conversion as he is given a five-yard cushion. The Rams back ahead, 17-10.

Defense Clamps Down

The Rams got the ball back midway through the third quarter. Officials throw flags on the first two third-down plays. An obvious false start by the Rams. And encroachment by Highsmith on the second. The Rams converted both. First Tyler Higbee catches a seven-yard pass on 3rd and 6. Then on the 3rd and 7, Stafford scrambles for eight. But later, Stafford, under pressure from Keanu Benton, throws incomplete. The Rams missed the 51-yard field goal. You can hear the Steelers fans going nuts in the stadium.

The Steelers tied the game. On 3rd and 3, Stafford fails to connect with Nacua. The defense keeps the score knotted up.

The Rams got the ball one last time with 7:20 to play and down 24-17. Freeman runs twice for a first down. Then the Rams go to the air. Stafford throws three straight incompletions. Benton is pressuring him. They punted with 5:39 to play. But the Steelers offense does not give them the opportunity to tie the game by playing keep away.

Special Teams

Special teams are an underappreciated facet of the game. One big play can shift momentum or even decide the game winner.

I break special teams into three phases: kickoffs, punts, and scoring (field goals and extra points). Here is an overview of the special teams play during the game:

KICKOFFS

Chris Boswell kicked off five times; four were touchbacks. Austin Trammell returned a short kickoff 12 yards before Nick Herbig tackled him at the 26-yard line to open the second half.

Punter Ethan Evans kicked off four times with three touchbacks. Godwin Igwebuike, playing his first game as a Steeler, inadvisably returned a kickoff from one yard deep in the closing seconds of the first half. He reached the 14 yard-line before going down.

THE STATS

Advantage Rams.

PUNTING

Pressley Harvin III punted five times averaging 43.6 yards; Austin Trammell fair-caught three. James Pierre downed one punt at the 6-yard line. Another went out of bounds at the Rams’ 39-yard line. Two punts gave the Rams starting position behind the 20. Aside from his first 35-yard punt, Harvin punted effectively.

Ethan Evans punted four times. Calvin Austin III returned three of them. He bobbled the last one but managed to maintain possession falling forward for a two-yard gain. Evans’ long 68-yard punt went for a touchback.

THE STATS

Advantage Steelers.

FIELD GOALS AND EXTRA POINTS

Chris Boswell kicked a 53-yard field goal to give the Steelers an early 3-0 lead. He added three extra points.

Brett Maher tied the game early with a 41-yard field goal but missed two other attempts. Also, Maher missed an extra point thoug, the Rams made up for it with a two-point conversion early in the second half. But that is seven missing points, the margin in the game.

THE STATS

Advantage Steelers

DAVE BRYAN’S VICTORY PUNCH LIST

Dave Bryan provided five keys for a Steelers victory. Here is how the Steelers performed them:

1. Apply consistent pressure on Matthew Stafford on passing downs. Larry Ogunjobi and Nick Herbig sacked Stafford. Plus, Keeanu Benton hit Stafford twice. Late in the game, Stafford was forced to move before passing, impacting his accuracy. Mission Accomplished.
2. Limit Aaron Donald to under two sacks. Donald hit Kenny Pickett twice but failed to sack him. Mission Accomplished.
3. Steelers successfully target their tight ends in passing game. Connor Heyward caught two of three targets. One reception set up Najee’s touchdown run. But three of 25 passes to tight ends not much. Mission Failure.
4. The Steelers successfully run off left tackle or end. Only five of 21 runs targeted the left tackle or end. Three were successful plays, including Warren’s touchdown. The score pushes them into Mission Accomplished.
5. Target Pickens outside the numbers. A couple key first downs at the sideline. Mission Accomplished.

The Steelers accomplished four of five keys to victory.

YOUR HOT TAKES DURING THE GAME

Thank you, Ross McCorkle, for keeping us up to date on the game’s first and second half Live Update and Discussion Threads. Steelers Depot respondents contributed 1,019 first-half comments. Respondents added  1,555 more second-half comments.  Here are the top three comments from each half. I don’t know the algorithm used by Disqus but here is how they stacked it up:

The top two first-half comments continued the Matt Canada theme. The third identified the Steelers’ unique game strategy.

CD had “the best” first-half comment with “When Canada leaves, he needs to take Pat Meyer with him. The o-line does not block well enough.”

BF had a similar theme with the second-best comment of the half. “We have 96 yards. They have 226. The Matt Canada experience simply never ends nor changes.”

But Alevin16 focused on Mike Tomlin’s game strategy: “I told you; MT is playing 17th dimensional chess. He got the Rams all tired out from having to score a TD and now they get the ball AGAIN after the break, they will be so tired when they have to score ANOTHER TD! “

Clearly respondents were frustrated after the Steelers had just three points to show for the first half and gave up a late touchdown. Score is just 9-3 but feels like Pittsburgh down two or three scores.

In the second half, Danny Porter had the top comment of the game by observing “Every time I try to get out, they pull me back in.” Following the Steelers is a rollercoaster.

Chris92021 viewed the spot on Kenny Pickett’s last quarterback sneak as karma. “It evened out. They flagged TJ for a bogus offside and now they spotted the ball in our favor. Thank goodness McVey burned all his timeouts.”

But even with the win. Some cannot shake their disgust with Matt Canada. Steelers4Eva,  “Now Canada wants to act excited then looks in the camera because of all the backlash last time. 😂🤣😂🤣😂😂”

Hope you all enjoy the banter on the live update and discussion threads!

CONCLUSION

The Steelers’ win in Los Angeles was very important. It kicked off the first of three games over 11 days. Pittsburgh hosts Jacksonville this Sunday then plays again just four days later against Tennessee. They have a brutal schedule at the end. So, need to stack some wins now.

The offense demonstrated it is capable of scoring and playing keep away in the fourth quarter. I’d love to see Pittsburgh passing 24-27 times a game. Pickens and Diontae receiving a third of the targets each is optimal with the remaining third spread out among the remaining receivers, tight ends and running backs; opposing defenses will have a hard time deciding who to double cover. The key is for Kenny Pickett to identify the single coverage quickly between his two primaries or to dump it off to a third option.

The defense is keeping Pittsburgh competitive by preventing teams from building large early leads. Still too many running yards yielded. Puka Nacua went wild, but Cooper Kupp limited to 29 receiving yards. Joey Porter Jr. gained valuable experience covering quality receivers. T.J. Watt is beastly, Minkah Fitzpatrick a tackling machine.

Chris Boswell and Pressley Harvin III are valuable assets, but the Steelerss return game is up in the air. I’d like to see Anthony McFarland Jr. back returning kicks. Danny Smith needs to work out something to give Calvin Austin III room on punt returns.

Jacksonville is next up, and the Jaguars lead the NFL with 16 takeaways. Pittsburgh’s offense must protect the ball. They are also fourth in yards allowed. Can Pittsburgh surprise them with a season-best performance?

The Jaguars will ride a four-game winning streak into Pittsburgh and have scored 68 points in the past two games. Can the defense unseat Jacksonville from its high horse? Here we go.

Your Song Selection

I always like to include a bit of music. The Steelers and their fans trekked to the City of Light on a Sunday afternoon. We got our mojo rising. Here is L.A. Woman performed by the Doors.