During the second half of Sunday's game, the Pittsburgh Steelers looked like the team many thought they would be when the regular season started six weeks ago. In all three phases, Mike Tomlin's team outplayed the Rams in the second half en route to a 24-17 win.
Trailing, 9-3, at halftime, an interception by T.J. Watt deep in L.A. territory jump-started the Steelers' big second half. Pittsburgh took the lead moments later on a short run by Kenny Pickett, who used his legs and his right arm to lead the Steelers to victory.
Pittsburgh (4-2) was also aided by three missed kicks by Brett Maher that included a 51-yard attempt that would have given the home team a 10-point lead with 1:22 left in the third. Pittsburgh responded by scoring a touchdown on its next two drives while forcing the Rams into a pair of punts over that span.
Los Angeles (3-4) lost despite a big day from rookie wideout Puka Nacua, who caught eight passes for 154 yards. Nacua's big game, however, wasn't enough to mask Cooper Kupp's almost invisible stat line of two catches for 29 yards. Kupp dropped two passes early, and his only catch in the second half was on a Rams two-point conversion.
Here's a full breakdown of the Steelers' first win in Los Angeles over the Rams since defeating L.A. way back in Super Bowl XIV.
Why the Steelers won
Pittsburgh played complementary football while also capitalizing on Rams mistakes. Watt's pick at the start of the second half was huge, but so was Pickett's 39-yard completion to Diontae Johnson three plays after Maher's missed field goal attempt late in the third quarter. The completion to Johnson set up Jaylen Warren's game-tying touchdown run.
The Steelers' offense then capitalized on the defense forcing the Rams into their only three-and-out of the day on L.A.'s ensuing drive. Pittsburgh's offense got the ball back and took control of the game by moving 80 yards on 10 plays. Pickett had four key completions and one third-down conversion with his legs on the drive that was punctuated by Najee Harris' first touchdown run of the season.
Pickett then iced the game with his successful fourth-down sneak just before the two-minute warning.
Why the Rams lost
Los Angeles should have had a bigger lead at halftime. They led by just six points despite Nacua's big first half (94 yards on five catches) and Pittsburgh's offense failing to convert on a single third down. But a missed field goal and point-after attempt by Maher contributed to the Rams' inability to distance themselves from Pittsburgh in the first half.
The Rams ran the ball well (Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson Jr. combined to run for 127 yards and a score on 30 carries), but their passing game just wasn't good enough, especially with Kupp's minimal contributions. Defensively, the Rams didn't put more pressure on Pickett while allowing him to make several key plays with his legs. They also allowed too many big plays, especially on completions from Pickett to Johnson and fellow wideout George Pickens.
Turning point
Despite Watt's pick, the Steelers found themselves trailing after a neutral zone penalty on Watt set up the Rams' only score of the second half. But Pittsburgh re-gained momentum following Maher's missed field goal by tying the game on its ensuing possession. The Steelers received stellar play during this sequence of the game from Pickett, who finished with 250 yards on 17 of 25 passing.
Sandwiched between those scoring drives was rookie Joey Porter Jr.'s heads-up breakup of Stafford's third-down pass to Nacua. Porter made a couple of big plays Sunday while contributing to Pittsburgh's defensive success.
Play of the game
There's a lot of plays that could have been chosen (including Tutu Atwell's touchdown and Nacua's 32-yard grab in the second half), but the nod goes to Watt and his pick of Stafford on the first play of the second half. It was the first interception of the season for Watt, who is making a strong case to win his second Defensive Player of the Year award in three years.
Quotable
"I can, because I've seen it so many times. So grateful for our fans. They come out here and travel. Truly believe we have the best fans in the world. It's like a home game when we're on the road. Huge shout out to them." -- Pickett to Fox Sports after the game when asked about the overwhelming amount of Steelers fans that flooded SoFi Stadium on Sunday
What's next
Los Angeles will head to Dallas to take on the Cowboys on its first of two road games before a bye week. The Cowboys took a 4-2 record into their Week 7 bye.
Pittsburgh returns home to face a Jaguars team that is 5-2 and atop the AFC South division standings. The Steelers have historically had issues with Jacksonville. Pittsburgh is 13-14 all-time against Jacksonville that includes two postseason losses.