It was an interesting game in Los Angeles on Sunday. What started off as a barn burner eventually had Pittsburgh Steelers fans on the edge of their seats. The Steelers were underdogs in this contest, but they managed to pull off the upset road victory against the Rams on the West Coast.
Things started off poorly for the Steelers -- particularly on the offensive side of the football. The game opened with two straight punts by Pittsburgh, and they finished the first quarter once again scoreless.
This stagnant offense continued for much of the game. By the end of the third quarter, the Steelers were able to muster up just 10 points. However, an impressive interception and return from All-Pro T.J. Watt set Pittsburgh up with an outstanding field position to punch in an easy score.
Even with the defense putting them in great position, the Steelers still trailed 10-17 by the end of the third quarter. Fans were taking to social media to voice their distaste for Pittsburgh's stale offense. To the surprise of many, Pittsburgh turned it on in the fourth quarter.
Steelers offense shows signs of life... but will it last?
In the final fourteen minutes of the game, the Steelers went on a 14-0 run. Kenny Pickett finally came alive in the waning moments of the game and made some clutch plays down the stretch -- including a big 39-yarder to Diontae Johnson and a couple of strikes across the middle of the field.
Pittsbdurgh's offense finally showed some signs of life with a strong first quarter. Pickett finished the game managing an impressive 9.2 yards per pass attempt while securing a 97.1 passer rating on the game. He was able to do this despite a running game that managed just 86 yards on 3.0 yards per carry, per ESPN stats.
A few boneheaded taunting calls against George Pickens and Diontae Johnson nearly cost Pittsburgh late in the game. The Steelers were also at the receiving end of a very controversial spot after it looked like Pickett came up short on a 4th and 1 QB sneak. However, this came with just 2:24 remaining in the game, and the Rams would have still needed to score a touchdown with no timeouts to send the game into overtime.
Statistically, Pittsburgh was still outpaced on offense in this game. They lost the yardage battle to the Rams 300 to 354 and were significantly worse on 3rd downs (just 4 of 12 conversions). However, like they somehow tend to do, the Steelers turned it on when it mattered most.
Mike Tomlin's team advances to 4-2 on the season with the win over the Rams today, but it certainly wasn't always pretty. Now the question becomes: how can the Pittsburgh Steelers play an entire game on offense like the fourteen-minute span we saw from them in the fourth quarter? There are plenty of improvements that need to be made, but hopefully, this was a step in the right direction.