The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Los Angeles Rams 17-12, Sunday November 10th, 2019. 

 

14 seconds in were already down 7-0. Great Start! Dante Fowler recovered a fumble that was snapped high and was returned 26-yards for the score. With 40 seconds remaining in the 1st quarter Mason Rudolph found his former college teammate James Washington on the side of the endzone left side and threw it over the head of the defender to get the Steelers on the board. 

 

When the Steelers traded for Minkah Fitzpatrick just before the Week 3 everyone said the Steelers overpaid for the 11th overall pick. Well… That trade isn’t looking so bad right now for the Steelers. In 7 games with Pittsburgh (including Sunday) Fitzpatrick has 5 INTs, 2TDs, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery. On Sunday Minkah added 2 Int, and another TD for the second consecutive week. 

 

The Steelers headed into halftime up 14-7 but the Rams hung around till the final play. Early in the 4th quarter the Steelers were pinned down deep in their own zone. Penn Hills and Pitt alum Aaron Donald made his presence known in his hometown sacking Mason Rudolph in the endzone for a safety to cut the deficit to 2. Chris Boswell has had a nice bounce back season from a year ago. He came up clutch Sunday with a 33-yard field goal to extend the Steeler lead to 17-12. 

 

In the final minutes, Pittsburgh made a huge defensive stop to put the offense on the field with just over a minute to play in the game. But, somehow the Steelers still found a way to give the Rams life with just under a minute remaining. (And of course we had to get a pass interference call on us.) But, Minkah (who grab his second INT of the game) and the defense came up big again to seal Pittsburgh’s 4th straight win. 

 

Jared Goff completed 22 of 41 passses for 0 TDs and 1 INT. Todd Gurley was held to just 73 yards rushing on 12 carries. Mason Rudolph was 22/38 in pass attempts for 242-yards 1 TD and 0 INT. James Washington had 6 catches for 90-yards and 1 TD. The Rams fall to 5-4 and 3rd Place in the NFC West and the Steelers improve to 5-4 and are above .500 for the first time all season to stay in the AFC playoff picture.