Defense Seals Victory as Steelers Win Fourth Straight

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers defense stood up and secured a victory on Sunday, breaking up three consecutive Los Angeles Rams passes to stop one late drive and then intercepting Jared Goff on another as the Steelers prevailed 17-12 to win their fourth straight game and improve to 5-4 on the season.

Minkah Fitzpatrick intercepted Goff’s pass after it was tipped by Joe Haden with 41 seconds to play.

The Steelers defense forced four turnovers, two of them coming from Fitzpatrick, and held the Rams to 88 rushing yards in the victory.

Pittsburgh first took the lead on Minkah Fitzpatrick’s second defensive touchdown in as many weeks. He scooped up a Jared Goff forward fumble and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time a Steelers defensive player scored on back-to-back weeks since 1984.

From there, the offense did just enough to salt away the victory, with a long fourth-quarter scoring drive ending in a 33-yard Chris Boswell field goal that made the Rams try for the end zone late.

Mason Rudolph connected with James Washington on a fade route in the end zone for the Steelers’ only other score.

Rudolph finished 22 of 38 for 242 yards, but the passing offense was hobbled by a significant number of drops by Steelers receivers in critical circumstances.

The Steelers running game did little against a stout Los Angeles front and missing James Conner, Benny Snell, Roosevelt Nix and Ramon Foster. Jaylen Samuels had 14 carries for just 29 yards.

The offense also handed the Rams nine points, two on a fourth-quarter safety and seven after a bad shotgun snap from Maurkice Pouncey to Rudolph was returned for a touchdown on the game’s opening drive.
The Steelers will attempt to continue their winning streak on a short week, as they will visit the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night.