The Pittsburgh Steelers snuck out a win in Los Angeles by mere inches on Sunday afternoon.
The Rams, despite what appeared to be a questionable spot late at SoFi Stadium, couldn’t challenge the play.
Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett ran a sneak to try and convert on a fourth-and-1 just past midfield ahead of the two minute warning. The Steelers held a 24-17 lead at the time, and just needed to keep their drive alive to end the game and grab the win.
After taking the snap and being brought down almost right away, Pickett looked like he was stopped well short of the line to gain. Yet once officials measured the ball, and gave him a favorable spot, it was determined that he had gotten just enough to get the first down.
The Rams couldn’t challenge the play, either, as they were out of timeouts. So the ruling stood as called on the field, and the Steelers simply ran out the clock and escaped with the seven-point win.
The Rams led for most of the contest on Sunday, and took a touchdown lead after Darrell Henderson scored on a one-yard run midway through the third quarter. But it was a massive fourth quarter showing that got the Steelers in position to kneel the ball out late. Jaylen Warren tied the game up not even two minutes into the final period on a 13-yard touchdown run. Then, after forcing the Rams to punt, Najee Harris capped a 10-play, 80 yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to give the Steelers the lead.
The Rams had one last chance on offense, but Matthew Stafford threw three straight incomplete passes before they punted the ball away with just more than five minutes left. That was the last time they held the ball.
Stafford went just 14-of-29 for 231 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the loss for the Rams, who fell to 3-4 on the season. Royce Freeman had 66 yards on 12 carries, and Henderson had 61 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Puka Nacua had 154 receiving yards on eight catches. He now has four 100-yard games this season.
Pickett went 17-of-25 for 230 yards for the Steelers. Harris finished with 53 rushing yards on 14 carries, and George Pickens had 107 yards on five receptions. The Steelers have now won four of their last five games. They’ll host the Jacksonville Jaguars next week.