Steelers vs. Rams Gameday: TV Info, Lines, Injuries, More

STEELERS GAMEDAY INFO

Week 7, Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) vs. Los Angeles Rams (3-3)

Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, 4:05 p.m. Eastern
SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles (70,000, turf)

Broadcast
TV: FOX, WPGH locally, (Adam Amin, Daryl Johnston, Pam Oliver). TV Broadcast Map.

Radio: Steelers Radio Network, 102.5 WDVE-FM (Bill Hillgrove, Craig Wolfley, Max Starks), Sirius XM Radio 135 or 386.

SN Coverage: Alan Saunders, Nick Farabaugh
WPXI Weather: 71 degrees, sunny. Winds S 4 mph.
Lines: Steelers +3, Steelers +142, over/under 44

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AT STAKE

The Steelers have a chance to show their ability to make adjustments at the bye for the second striaght season, particularly on offense, where they’re 30th in points, 32nd in yards, 31st in passing yards and 31st in rushing yards.

STEELERS INJURY REPORT

The team is mostly healthy coming out of the bye week, with two notable exceptions. Defensive tackle Cam Heyward has not yet begun to practice as he works his way back from core muscle surgery. He is expected to be out for a few more weeks. Tight end Pat Freiermuth suffered a setback in his return from a hamstring injury on Thursday and now will miss several more weeks.

Running back Anthony McFarland Jr. was healthy enough to practice all week, but was not activated from the injured reserve list.

TRANSACTIONS

The Steelers placed Freiermuth on the injured reserve list, activated Johnson from the IR and released wide receiver Gunner Olszewski on Saturday. They have one open slot on their 53-man roster.

FROM THE OTHER SIDE

The Rams are dealing with an injury to running back Kyren Williams that figures to make them even more one-dimensional than they have been. L.A. is seventh in passing yards, but 18th in rushing yards.

THE LAST TIME

Minkah Fitzpatrick returned a fumble for a touchdown, one of three defensive scores as both teams struggled on offense in a 17-12 Pittsburgh win at Heinz Field in 2019.

Mason Rudolph started in place of injured Ben Roethlisberger and threw a touchdown pass early to James Washington to tie the score after Dante Fowler Jr. returned a fumble for the Rams defense to open the scoring.

Fitzpatrick’s 43-yard return gave the Steelers the lead for good late in the second quarter.

A Greg Zuerlein field goal cut the deficit some and then Aaron Donald did even more when he sacked Rudolph for a safety.

But a Chris Boswell field goal with 2:46 to play made the Rams need a touchdown and Fitzpatrick intercepted Jared Goff on the final drive of the game.

STEELERS-RAMS SERIES

Los Angeles leads the all-time series, 15-10-2, which dates back to the Rams’ founding in Cleveland in the 1930s. The first game between the teams was a 13-7 Rams win in Pittsburgh. The Steelers went 0-2-1 in three games against the Cleveland Rams.

When the franchise first moved to L.A., the Steelers’ luck didn’t change much. The Steelers were 0-6-2 against the Rams and didn’t earn their first win against the franchise until 1956.

Even when the Steelers’ fortunes changed in the 1970s, they still struggled with the Rams, dropping six straight from 1961 to 1978.

That changed in 1980, when the Steelers defeated the Rams in Super Bowl XIV at the Rose Bowl in nearby Pasadena, California.

That is still the Steelers’ only victory over the Rams in L.A., as they went 3-2 against them after the Super Bowl win, earning victories in Pittbsurgh but losses at Memorial Coliseum.

In 1995, the Rams moved to St. Louis. The Steelers won four of five against that iteration and have won four in a row overall in the series.

This will be the Steelers’ first game against the Rams in L.A. since 1993. It’s their second game at SoFi Stadium, following a loss to the Chargers in 2021.

PITTSBURGH CONNECTIONS

Former Steelers guard Kevin Dotson will be starting at right guard for the Rams, and former Steelers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon will also be starting.

Defensive tackle Aaron Donald is a Pittsburgh native, Penn Hills and Pitt alum.

Safety Quentin Lake is the son of Steelers great Carnell Lake.

TOMLIN AFTER THE BYE

The Steelers are 12-4 after a bye week under head coach Mike Tomlin and have won six straight games following an off week. In total, the Steelers have the fifth-most wins and the sixth-best winning percentage coming out of the bye since it was implemented in 1990.

BEST COAST?

This is the second of three western road trips for the Steelers this season. They defeated the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 3 and will face the Seattle Seahawks on New Year’s Eve.

The only other time they made three West Coast trips was in 1994, when they went 1-2 against the San Diego Chargers, L.A. Raiders and Seattle Seahawks.

The Steelers are 20-38 all-time in the Pacific Time Zone and are 3-7 out west under Tomlin.