Steelers hold off Rams for 4th straight win

The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t get the start they desired Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Rams.

They had no complaints, however, about the ending.

The defense stopped the Rams twice in the final two minutes, with Minkah Fitzpatrick’s second turnover of the game sealing a 17-12 victory that was the fourth in a row for the Steelers and pushed them into the playoff picture.

At 5-4, the Steelers not only remain two games behind the first-place Baltimore Ravens (7-2), they are positioned as the AFC’s sixth seed and trail No. 5 Buffalo (6-3) by a game.

Not bad for a team that started 0-3 and was 1-4 barely a month ago.

“I keep telling you guys I like this team,” said center Maurkice Pouncey, whose bad snap on the second offensive play led to a 7-0 deficit just 14 seconds into the game. “This team is very encouraged. I know we didn’t start off the way we wanted to, but this team has been fighting through adversity.”

Fitzpatrick scored a defensive touchdown late in the first half for the second week in a row to give the Steelers a lead they would not relinquish despite a frantic push in the final moments by the Rams. Fitzpatrick had two of the four turnovers created by the Steelers defense, which kept the defending NFC champions out of the end zone and limited the Rams to 1 of 14 on third downs.

The Steelers stopped the Rams twice down the stretch: once on downs at the Steelers 30 and again with 20 seconds left when Fitzpatrick’s interception on a Jared Goff pass deflected by cornerback Joe Haden sealed the victory.

“Just studying hard, playing hard and getting all hats to the ball and having fun,” said linebacker T.J. Watt, who had two of the team’s four sacks and a forced fumble. “We’re having an absolute blast out there just playing loose and playing the best ball we can.”

The game wasn’t artistic by any means. It featured six turnovers (one of which was an interception thrown by a punter), 23 penalties (including one against a kicker), a safety, 14 three-and-outs, 11 fumbles or interceptions and 17 punts.

“We know it wasn’t perfect,” defensive lineman Cameron Heyward said, “but I love the way we battled.”

The Rams used a 25-yard fumble return by Dante Fowler Jr. on Pouncey’s wayward snap to take a 7-0 lead just 14 seconds into the game, then never found the end zone again.

Mason Rudolph threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to James Washington in the first half and directed a fourth-quarter field-goal drive that provided a five-point cushion. That was the extent of the scoring for an offense that was held to 273 yards, including 42 rushing on 27 attempts.

That is a marked contrast to the defense, which has 26 turnovers after forcing just 15 last season, and scored as many touchdowns as the offense for the second week in a row.

“They are playing like the ‘85 Bears,” said Rudolph, who completed 22 of 38 attempts for 242 yards and was sacked three times. “It seems like every week they are forcing turnovers every other series. We understand it’s a team game. It’s a process. We’re getting there.”

Penn Hills native and former Pitt star Aaron Donald had five tackles, a half-sack for a safety, three quarterback hits and two tackles for loss for the Rams. The safety he forced pulled the Rams within 14-12 early in the fourth quarter.

Chris Boswell’s 33-yard field goal with 2:46 remaining hiked the Steelers’ lead to 17-12 and meant the Rams needed a touchdown to win the game.

When the Steelers got the ball back at their 25 with 10:46 left, their previous eight drives had featured six punts, a lost fumble and a safety. But with the Steelers converting a fourth-and-1 in their own territory, Rudolph led a 14-play, 60-yard drive that ran eight minutes off the clock before Boswell’s field goal.

On the drive, Rudolph completed 6 of 7 passes and found Washington three times for 40 yards. Washington finished with six catches for 90 yards.

The biggest completion was a play-action pass to running back Trey Edmunds that gained 6 yards on a fourth-and-1 from the Steelers 34 with 8:55 remaining.

“I felt like we had some momentum on that drive and had been moving the ball well,” Rudolph said. “We just needed a chance to keep it rolling.”

On the next series, the Rams drove to the Steelers 30, but Goff threw four consecutive incompletions, with Terrell Edmunds breaking up a fourth-down toss into the end zone with 1:25 left.

The Rams used all three timeouts while forcing a three-and-out and got the ball back at their 40 with 1:01 remaining. Fitzpatrick’s interception ended the final threat.

After losing three second-half leads, including two late in the fourth quarter in losses to San Francisco and Baltimore, the Steelers have held off late comebacks in back-to-back weeks.

“We’re battle tested,” Watt said. “We just went through our valleys a little earlier than a lot of other teams. We know what we have. When our backs are against the wall, we’re not going to quit. We’re going to keep fighting.”

The next test will come on a short week when the Steelers begin a stretch of three consecutive AFC North games on Thursday when they travel to Cleveland (3-6).

“It’s a big stretch,” guard David DeCastro said. “We put ourselves in position to make these games even more important.”