Week 16 Recap – St. Louis Rams @ Pittsburgh Steelers
ST. LOUIS – On December 24, the Steelers and Rams had their fifteenth regular season game this year. The Rams are coming off a close loss at home against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Steelers are coming off a big MNF loss away against the San Francisco 49ers. Surprisingly, the spread is fairly even.
Pre-game notes: The Rams signed TE Mike McNeill to a two-year contract, LB Josh Hull (ankle) was placed on IR and WR Austin Pettis was suspended for four games due to the NFL’s policy on PEDs. Steelers LB James Harrison’s suspension was lifted, CB Curtis Brown (knee) was placed on IR and RB John Clay was activated from the practice squad.
Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger (ankle) is active and is not likely to play, meaning backup QB Charlie Batch will get the start. Here is a list of the Steelers’ inactives: LB Chris Carter, OT Jamon Meredith, RB Mewelde Moore, C Maurkice Pouncey, WR Emmanuel Sanders, OLB LaMarr Woodley and DT Al Woods. Rams QB Sam Bradford (ankle) and A.J. Feeley are inactive and QB Kellen Clemens will make his second straight start. Rams DE Chris Long and CB Josh Gordy are active. Here is a list of the Rams’ inactives: DT C.J. Ah You, Bradford, Feeley, DT John Henderson, CB Justin King and McNeill. Pittsburgh will look to keep pace with Baltimore for the division title today at Heinz Field.
1st quarter:
On 4th-and-2 at the PIT 48, Rams P Donnie Jones punted the ball 27 yards and it was fair caught at the PIT 21.
On 4th-and-2 at the STL 3, Steelers K Shaun Suisham successfully kicked a 21-yard field goal. Rams 0 Steelers 3
On 4th-and-12 at the STL 42, Jones punted the ball 41 yards and it was fair caught at the PIT 17.
On 4th-and-2 at the PIT 25, Steelers P Jeremy Kapinos punted the ball 49 yards and it was returned to the STL 43.
2nd quarter:
On 4th-and-10 at the PIT 44, Jones fake punted the ball and scrambled to the right end to the PIT 35.
On 2nd-and-6 at the STL 30, Batch threw a deep right pass intended for WR Antonio Brown and the ball was intercepted by CB Josh Gordy who returned it to the STL 20.
On 4th-and-1 at the STL 29, Jones punted the ball 51 yards and it was returned to the PIT 25.
On 1st-and-goal at the 10, Steelers backup RB John Clay rushed the ball up the right tackle, which resulted in a touchdown and extra point by Suisham. Rams 0 Steelers 10
On 4th-and-7 at the STL 40, Jones punted the ball 37 yards and it was downed at the PIT 23.
On 4th-and-9 at the PIT 24, Kapinos punted the ball 54 yards and it was returned to the STL 36.
On 4th-and-15 at the PIT 34, Rams K Josh Brown unsuccessfully kicked a 52-yard field goal wide left.
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3rd quarter:
On 4th-and-14 at the STL 31, Suisham successfully kicked a 49-yard field goal. Rams 0 Steelers 13
On 4th-and-2 at the STL 26, Jones punted the ball 46 yards and it was fair caught at the PIT 28.
On 4th-and-3 at the PIT 35, Kapinos punted the ball 32 yards and it was fair caught at the STL 33.
4th quarter:
On 4th-and-7 at the PIT 15, Brown unsuccessfully kicked a 33-yard field goal wide right.
On 4th-and-1 at the PIT 32, Kapinos punted the ball 56 yards and it was returned to the STL 15.
On 4th-and-2 at the STL 14, Jones punted the ball 37 yards and it was downed at the PIT 49.
On 1st-and-goal at the 1, Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall rushed the ball up the right guard, which resulted in a touchdown and extra point by Suisham. Rams 0 Steelers 20
On 4th-and-21 at the STL 21, Jones punted the ball 42 yards and it was fair caught at the PIT 37.
On 2nd-and-goal at the 2, Steelers backup RB Ike Redman rushed the ball up the middle, which resulted in a touchdown and extra point by Suisham. Rams 0 Steelers 27
On 1st-and-10 at the PIT 23, Rams backup RB Cadillac Williams rushed the ball up the left guard to the PIT 22. End game
Post-game notes: The Rams and Steelers really had no injuries. Steelers OL Doug Legursky was injured early in the game and did not return.
Rams RB Steven Jackson was the only Rams player with a good game with 103 rushing yards; he became the seventh player in NFL history to rush for at least 1000 yards in seven consecutive seasons. Clay’s first NFL carry was his touchdown run. Mendenhall and WR Mike Wallace also had good games with 116 rushing yards and 82 receiving yards, respectively. Steelers LB Lawrence Timmons also had a great game with seven solo tackles, three tackle assists and a sack. Steelers WR Hines Ward only needs five receptions for 1000 for his career. Antonio Brown broke the franchise mark for all-purpose yards in a season.
In a loss that was well-deserved, the Rams got blanked by the Pittsburgh “Terrible Towels” Steelers 0-27. The Rams have lost six straight; on the contrary, the Steelers have now won four of their last five. The game was still within reach until the Steelers’ fourth quarter touchdown. The game got out of hand after the Steelers’ second fourth quarter touchdown. This was Pittsburgh’s second shutout of the season. On the contrary, this was St. Louis’ second time being shut out this season.
The Steelers were bad on third downs going one for seven; the Rams were zero for one on fourth down. The Steelers had more total net yards (377 to 232). The average gain greatly favored the Steelers (7.5 to 3.7). Rushing yards were similar, though the Steelers killed the Rams on passing yards (208 to 68). The Rams were sacked three times and the Steelers were never sacked. However, the Steelers did have one interception. The Rams had one fumble, but they recovered it. One stat that the Rams did win was penalties, with the Steelers having three more penalties for more than double the yardage. Ball control was very similar, slightly favoring the Rams.
The big stats of the game were red zone efficiency/goal to go, field goals and touchdowns. St. Louis was zero for one in the red zone. On the other hand, Pittsburgh was three for four in the red zone and three for three on goal to go. The Steelers converted all two field goals, but the Rams converted neither of their two field goal chances. The Rams had zero touchdowns and the Steelers had three (all rushing).
The season is looking even worse for the Rams, now that they are 2-13 in the regular season; the Rams and Indianapolis Colts are the only two teams in the running for the #1 overall draft pick. Chances are the Rams will receive a #2 overall pick in the 2012 draft.
By Trevor Roe
ProFootball-fans.com St. Louis Rams Correspondent