On a day of firsts for the Pittsburgh Steelers, rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett got his first win in a game that he started and finished, and coach Mike Tomlin beat the New Orleans Saints for the first time in four tries.

Not to be overlooked was the Steelers also getting their first 20-yard run of the season. And the second. And the third. And the fourth.

A series of long gains helped the Steelers rush for 217 yards — their highest total in six years — to fuel a 20-10 victory at Acrisure Stadium.

Pickett and wide receiver George Pickens scored on 1-yard runs, the Steelers didn’t turn the ball over and the defense got a pair of interceptions in the fourth quarter to snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 3-6.

More on the Steelers' win over the Saints:

• Steelers come out running vs. Saints, finish with their best rushing game in 6 years • Returns of T.J. Watt, Damontae Kazee contribute to Steelers’ dominant defensive effort • Steelers injury report: Myles Jack cleared, but held out of Steelers’ victory as precaution • Minkah Fitzpatrick underwent appendectomy soon after Steelers’ Saturday walkthrough

The Saints (3-7) were the only team Tomlin had not defeated in his 16 seasons as Steelers coach.

“We understand it’s not anything mystical,” Tomlin said. “It’s good work, minimizing negativity, staying on schedule on offense and possessing the ball, running the ball and winning possession downs on defense.”

The Steelers, who controlled the clock for nearly 39 minutes, hadn’t rushed for 200 yards since Week 14 of the 2016 season when Le’Veon Bell had a franchise-record 236 against Buffalo.

Unlike that game, this was a collaborative effort. Najee Harris led with 99 yards on 20 carries, Pickett added 51, backup running back Jaylen Warren chipped in 37 and Pickens had 23.

“We didn’t put a whole new offense in,” center Mason Cole said of the extra time off provided by the bye week. “It was more of the same, more attention to detail, more accountability, trying to do the right things all the time on offense. It certainly felt like it was better today.”

Until Sunday, the Steelers were the only NFL team without a 20-yard run. Harris ended the drought with a 36-yard burst in the first quarter that led to a field goal and 10-0 lead. That set the tone for Pickett to have a 23-yard scramble, Pickens to go 22 yards on an end around and Warren to gain 21 on a carry.

“It was something we emphasized a lot,” Harris said. “They said we need to make a lot of 10 yard-plus plays. That was a challenge for us in the running back room: for us to make more splash plays and explosion plays and get the run game going.”

More from Tim Benz:

• Feats of Strength: Steelers defense, running game come up big in much-needed win over Saints • Madden Monday on Kenny Pickett: 'Right now, I think he stinks' • First Call: Bill Cowher rants about Jeff Saturday; JuJu Smith-Schuster knocked out; Matt Murray may face Penguins

On the other side, the Steelers held the Saints to 29 yards rushing, the lowest total by an opponent since 2017. The Saints had 43 total yards in the second half and 186 overall, the fewest allowed by a Steelers defense since 2019 when they gave up 175 to the Cincinnati Bengals.

The opposing quarterback that day? Andy Dalton, who continues to melt down when he faces the Steelers defense. Dalton helped the Saints rally from a 10-0 deficit in the first half but threw two picks in the fourth quarter, one of which led to a Steelers touchdown. He also was stopped short on a fourth-and-1 sneak that essentially ended the Saints’ comeback hopes.

Dalton is 3-14 in his career against the Steelers, and the loss was his eighth consecutive against them in games he has started.

In this one, the Steelers welcomed back outside linebacker T.J. Watt from a seven-game absence. Safety Damontae Kazee made his season debut and filled in for Minkah Fitzpatrick, who underwent an appendectomy Saturday. Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and cornerback Levi Wallace also returned after missing the previous game, but leading tackler Myles Jack sat with a knee injury.

Kazee and Wallace had interceptions in the fourth quarter.

“Having more of our defenders back helped,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. “I know we lost Minkah before the game, but it was a breath of fresh air to have them back. The more we can add them to the party, the more we can be successful.”

Pickett engineered two fourth-quarter scoring drives, the first snapping a 10-10 tie on Matthew Wright’s 33-yard field goal. Despite being sacked six times, Pickett passed for 199 yards and didn’t throw an interception. He also made better decisions than in his previous starts, opting to throw the ball away rather than risk a pick. He had eight entering the game.

“First and foremost, we took care of the ball,” Tomlin said. “As a young quarterback in competitive circumstances, that is a difficult thing to do. We don’t discount his ability to do that. You take care of the ball, you give yourself a chance to win and make yourself a tough team to beat.”

Pickett used his legs to gain 51 yards came on eight attempts. The most significant one was his 1-yard dive into the end zone with 8 minutes, 38 seconds left that gave the Steelers a 10-point lead.

That touchdown was set up by Kazee’s interception at the Steelers’ 45. After the Steelers stopped Dalton short on his fourth-down sneak, they ended the Saints’ final drive with Wallace’s interception.

In a fitting way to help run out the final 4:23, Warren broke off his 21-yard run.

“One of the biggest things we lacked was explosion,” guard James Daniels said. “It’s impossible to win in the NFL if you’re not getting explosive plays.”

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