St. Louis Rams Fail To Find End Zone, Fall 12-6 To Steelers

The St. Louis Rams were looking for a chance at redemption following a tough Week 2 loss to the Washington Redskins. They welcomed the Pittsburgh Steelers into the Edward Jones Dome with Le’Veon Bell for the first time this season. The Rams offense sputtered for the second consecutive week, falling 12-6 to the Steelers.

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The start of the game was delayed following a pregame pyrotechnics mishap. A small portion of the playing surface inside the Edward Jones Dome. The start of the game was delayed over 25 minutes as the stadium crews made the field playable for both teams.

Here’s a photo of the turf that was on fire due to pyrotechnics before the start of the #PITvsSTL game pic.twitter.com/gQy9qBt5iK

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) September 27, 2015

When the team were able to start play, the Steelers offense proved its might on their opening drive. They moved 77 yards on 13 plays with Ben Roethlisberger going 7-for-8 on the drive. They moved the ball all the way to the Rams 3-yard line before Michael Brockers came up with a huge stop of Le’Veon Bell. The Steelers were forced to settle for a 21-yard Josh Scobee field goal, giving them a 3-0 lead.

Sep 27, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) carries the ball away from St. Louis Rams middle linebacker James Laurinaitis (55) during the first half at The Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Lindsey-USA TODAY Sports

On the drive, Rams middle linebacker James Laurinaitis recorded his 916th career tackle. The tackle of Antonio Brown moved Laurinaitis past Merlin Olsen for the all-time Rams record in tackles.

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After a stalled Rams drive, the Steelers continued to move the ball with relative ease as both Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell knifed through the Rams defense. They went on a 12-play 92-yard drive that took more than six minutes off the clock. Brown continued to dominate, finishing the drive with seven receptions for 67 yards on the game. The drive was capped on a 1-yard Bell touchdown run which followed a pass interference on Lamarcus Joyner in the end zone on the previous play. The Steelers went for the two-point conversion, but did not convert. Pittsburgh still took the 9-0 lead following the touchdown.

The Rams finally started to move the ball on their next drive, but the drive stalled around midfield. The Rams attempted a fake punt, but a low throw from Johnny Hekker to Stedman Bailey ended the drive. The Rams did get rookie running back Todd Gurley on the field for the first time on the drive. He ran the ball three times for two yards, and caught one pass for five yards.

The Rams defense finally got to Roethlisberger on the next drive. The Steelers took a shot deep, but Janoris Jenkins made a play on the ball for an interception. It was the first interception of the season for Jenkins.

That turnover led to the Rams first points of the day as they drove 50 yards on nine plays before Greg Zuerlein sent a 49-yard field goal through the uprights. Avon Austin played a key role on the play, and the field goal cut the Steelers lead down to 9-3.

The Steelers would get the ball back with two minutes before the half ended, but the Rams defense stood tall to prevent any scoring opportunity. First, Robert Quinn drew a hold, the Alec Ogletree collected his first sack of the season. That ended the half, with Pittsburgh carrying a 9-3 lead into the half.

The Steelers got a 16-of-19 performance from Roethlisberger, nine of those passes going to Antonio Brown. Foles went 9-of-11 for the Rams with Tavon Austin hauling in four receptions. The Steelers out gained the Rams 187 yards to 110 yards. The Steelers held the ball for 17:13, compared to just 12:47 from the Rams.

The Rams got the ball to start the second half and missed a golden opportunity to take the lead. A deep pass attempt from Nick Foles to Lance Kendricks on a deep ball then led to a sack of Foles and a punt.

The Steelers were able to move the ball on their next drive, but it was the emergence of Aaron Donald on the drive that ended things. Donald collected a sack and a tackle for a loss on the drive. Mark Barron also collected a sack on back-to-back plays with Donald. The big news was the injury of Ben Roethlisberger on the Barron sack. Roethlieberger suffered what appeared to be a left knee injury, and was carted to the locker room.

Sep 27, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Todd Gurley (30) carries the ball in his first NFL game as Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Will Allen (20) defends during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Rams came back on the field with a good chance to take the lead, but another mistake ended the chance. Greg Robinson was called for a hold, pushing the Rams back before they were forced to punt.

The Rams pass rush continued to break free, however, as Robert Quinn had a strip-sack on the next drive. The Steelers recovered the fumble, but were still forced to punt.

The Rams offense finally got moving on their ensuing drive, though the Steelers helped the cause with a defensive pass interference. They then had Chris Givens carry for 24 yards on a jet-sweep play. They then got false start penalties from Jared Cook and Greg Robinson to push them back and force a 27-yard Greg Zuerlein field goal to cut the deficit to 9-6, Steelers.

After stalled drives, the Rams got the ball back with the opportunity to take the lead. It was a Nick Foles overthrow that ended the drive, however, as he missed Lance Kendricks and threw the ball right to Will Allen for a turnover. The defense again stopped Pittsburgh, forcing a 41-yard field goal to extend Pittsburgh’s lead to 12-6.

The Rams got the ball back with 1:56 remaining in the game and no timeouts. They promptly went 4-&-out and turned the ball over to the Steelers to end the game. The 12-6 loss dropped the Rams to 1-2 on the season. They managed just 258 yards on offense and were unable to score a touchdown.

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