Cheat Sheet: Steelers at Rams

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN

• TV coverage: Broadcast nationally on FOX (WPGH-TV locally in Pittsburgh).
• Steelers Radio Network - Game coverage begins at 4:05 p.m. ET; Pregame programming begins at 12:05 p.m.; Postgame coverage starts immediately following the game.
• Don't miss a minute of the action... check out all of the ways that you can watch, listen and follow along on gameday. Click here >>>

INJURY UPDATE

The Steelers take to the road as they face the Rams at SoFi Stadium.
Check out the most updated Injury Report: Click here >>>

SERIES HISTORY

The Steelers and Rams have faced off 27 times, including Super Bowl XIV. The Rams lead this series 15-10-2. This series began in 1938 when the Cleveland Rams defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 13-7. Between that game and their matchup in 1978, the Rams' record against Pittsburgh was 12-1-2. Since that point, the Steelers have dominated, going 9-3. Pittsburgh currently has a four-game winning streak against the Rams, with the most recent matchup in 2019 going in the Steelers favor, 17-12. Mike Tomlin is 4-0 against the Rams.

MATCHUP OVERVIEW

• In the past decade, the Steelers are 61-28-1 the remainder of the season following their by week under Mike Tomlin. The Steelers were 7-2 last year after their Week 9 bye week. 
• Pittsburgh has won its last six games coming off the bye and is one of just three teams undefeated the game after their bye since 2017. For his career, Tomlin is 12-4 in games after a bye week. 
• Pittsburgh has split its two road games this season. The Rams at home are 1-2. Their point differential is plus-21 compared to minus-31 for the Steelers. 
• The current record of the three teams against which Los Angeles has last is 13-5. The three teams the Rams defeated this year are currently a combined 7-10.
• The Steelers have been out-rushed this season by 317 yards. And Pittsburgh's opponents average 1.4 yards more per carry than the Steelers have produced. 
• Los Angeles has 304 more passing yards than its opponents, which is just over 50 per game to the Rams' advantage. 
• Aaron Donald has 105.5 sacks in 144 career games, good for .73 per game. TJ Watt has played in 92 games and has 85.5 sacks, good for .93 per game. 
• Pittsburgh has had a lead on the scoreboard for 23.4% of its offensive snaps. That is the lowest of any team with a winning record. 
• The Steelers are plus-5 in turnover differential, having taken the ball away 11 times while only losing two fumbles and throwing four interceptions through five games. The Rams are minus-1 having only taken the football away five times in six games. But Los Angeles' offense has only lost one fumble this season. 
• The Steelers average drive begins at their 26.7-yard line. Only six teams start drives in worse position. One of those teams is the Rams though, whose average drive starts at their 26.5-yard line. 
• Pittsburgh's opponents have been penalized 14 more times than the Steelers this year. Pittsburgh is plus-125 in penalty yardage. Los Angeles is dead even, having been penalized 36 times - the same number as its opponents.

WHEN PITTSBURGH HAS THE BALL

• The Rams defense allow 5.2 yards per play.
• Based off opponent's EPA, Pittsburgh has faced the most difficult slate of defenses in the NFL by a very wide margin.
• The Steelers have employed 11 Personnel 75.2% of their offensive snaps this season. Only five NFL offenses have used a specific personnel grouping a higher percentage of their snaps.
• Opponents are attacking the Rams out of 11 Personnel 70.5% of the snaps. That is the sixth-highest percentage in the league. In turn, Los Angeles has been in its dime package with six defensive backs on the field for 18.8% of its snaps, which is the league's fifth-highest rate.
• Pittsburgh is averaging 59 offensive plays per game. Just four teams snap the ball less frequently.
• Kenny Pickett is getting 53.2% of his yardage after the catch, the fourth-highest percentage in the league.
• Since entering the league in 2019, only seven wide receivers in the league have more receptions than Diontae Johnson.
• George Pickens has a 44% air yards share this year. If you isolate the games since Johnson's injury in Week 1, that number jumps to 48%. Pickens has aligned on the outside 88% of his snaps and has a 25% target share for the year.
• With Johnson out of the lineup, the Steelers other wide receiver participation has been: Pickens (273 of a possible 304 snaps), Allen Robinson (260) and Calvin Austin (211). Myles Boykin has 35 plays on offense and Gunner Olszewski has five snaps.
• Allen Robinson's routes in a Steelers uniform has come out of the slot 72.4% of the time.
• Darnell Washington has run 56 routes but has been targeted just three times. Connor Heyward has run 43 routes and has been targeted nine times.
• Pat Freiermuth's .6 yards per route run is the sixth lowest amongst all NFL wide receivers and tight ends amongst players that have run at least 75 routes. Last year Freiermuth averaged 1.68 yards per route run. He was also targeted in 22.5% of his routes a year ago compared to 13.4% in 2023. Freiermuth has yet to get to five targets in a single game and has only been targeted 13 times all season.
• The Rams are allowing 9.2 yards per target (31st) to opposing tight ends and are surrendering the second-most yards per game (69.0) to the tight end position.
• Alvin Kamara is the only running back in the NFL that is being targeted at a higher percentage of his routes run than Jaylen Warren (32.9%). Warren also averages 2.18 yards per route run, which leads all running backs. He has at least three catches in every game this season. Najee Harris has played 158 snaps this season compared to 132 for Jaylen Warren. Harris has run 75 routes compared to 77 by Warren.
• The Rams allow just 3.3 catches per game to opposing running backs, the fifth-fewest in the league.
• The Rams allow a 54% completion percentage. Cleveland and New Orleans are the only ones better.
• Los Angeles only has 10 sacks through six games and 5.5 of those are from Byron Young (3) and Donald (2.5). However, Arizona's Josh Dobbs was deemed "Pressured" on 50% (23 of 46 drop backs) of his drop backs last week, the Rams' highest pressure percentage of any game this season.
• Of the Steelers' rushing yards, 72.4% have been after first contact. Cleveland and Houston are the only ones with a higher percentage.
• Najee Harris has a run of 10+ yards on 9.5% of his carries, which ranks 15th of the 33 qualifying running backs.
• Pickett is scrambling on 2.3% of his drop backs this year compared to 6.7% in 2022, which was the eighth-highest among quarterbacks.

WHEN LOS ANGELES HAS THE BALL

• The Rams average 5.6 yards per play. Only five offenses are better. Pittsburgh's defense surrenders 5.6 yards per play, as well. 
• No offense in the league uses a specific personnel grouping more than the Rams utilize 11 Personnel (1 RB/1 TE). Los Angeles has been in 11 Personnel for 94% of its snaps. Los Angeles has the smallest percentage in the league with two or more tight ends on the field.
• Only one defense has played a higher percentage of its snaps (40%) with four defensive backs on the field than the Steelers, who are 31st (37.7%) in usage of nickel with five defensive backs employed. 
• The Eagles and Cowboys are the only offenses that average more plays per drive than Los Angeles. 
• Los Angeles only ran 55 plays (compared to 73 by the Cardinals) but averaged 6.9 yards per play last week. 
• Pittsburgh is allowing a completion percentage of 54.5%. Only four defenses are better. However, only the Bengals defense is seeing a higher average depth of target. The average pass attempt against the Steelers is 9.8 yards downfield.
• Los Angeles' passing plays have resulted in a first down or touchdowns 33.7% of the time, the sixth-best rate in the league. 
• The Rams offense is 27th in completion percentage. 
• Of quarterbacks with at least 50 passing attempts, only Tua Tagovailoa and Kirk Cousins are passing for more yards per game than Matthew Stafford. Stafford's average depth of target is sixth-highest. Only 38.9% of Stafford's yardage has come after the catch, the third-lowest percentage in the league. But Stafford's 2.9% touchdown rate is the lowest of his career. 
• Only 38% of the Steelers passing yards allowed have come after the catch. The Lions are the only defense with a lower percentage. 
• Against the Cardinals in his second game back from injury, Cooper Kupp received 43% of Stafford's targets. In that game, Kupp played 100% of the snaps compared to 96% for Puka Nacua. Based off EPA, Kupp was the NFL's third-best pass catcher for Week 6. Kupp has 18 games with 100+ receiving yards since 2021 (out of a possible 28 games played). 
• Nacua was targeted 25% of Stafford's drop backs last week. Nacua's team target share is the fourth-highest in the NFL amongst all receivers that have run at least 75 routes. Nacua still averages 99.7 receiving yards per game, the sixth-highest in the NFL. Only Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs have a higher targets per route run (.29) than Nacua this season. 
• Over the two games Kupp has been back from injury, he and Nacua have accounted for 72% of the Rams targets. And over those two games, these two have accounted for 26 of Stafford's 36 total completions and 363 of Stafford's 448 passing yards. 
• Tyler Higbee has been on the field for 382 of a possible 411 offensive snaps. Because the Rams utilize 11 Personnel so frequently, there isn't another tight end on the roster with more than 47 snaps played on offense. 
• Over the past two games, Higbee has run a route on 87% of Stafford's drop backs but has only been targeted on 14% of those routes. He has just four catches over the past two games with Kupp back in the lineup. 
• Pittsburgh ranks in the top six in both sacks per game (3.4) and takeaways per game (2.2). Pittsburgh is pressuring opposing quarterbacks on 41.4% of their drop backs. Only the Cowboys, 49ers and Jets are better. 
• When Stafford has been considered "Pressured", he has completed 39.4% (30th) for 6.1 yards per attempt (16th) with just one touchdown pass. When Stafford has been kept clean, he completes 71.2% (18th) and 8.0 yards per attempt (10th). 
• When the Steelers get pressure, they allow a 37.9% completion rate (3rd) for 5.2 yards per attempt (11th) with one passing touchdown and three interceptions, compared to 8.3 yards per attempt (29th) with seven passing touchdowns and two interceptions when they fail to get pressure on the quarterback. 
• Even though he didn't play last week, Watt still leads the NFL in quarterback takedowns (sacks plus hits) with 15. He is the only player in the league with five or more sacks and four or more passes defensed. Watt averages 1.2 sacks per game since 2021. No other player in the NFL is averaging over a sack per game during that timeframe. 
• Watt and Alex Highsmith are two of just four NFL players with eight or more forced fumbles since 2021. 
• In the three games Los Angeles has won this year, it has run the ball a total of 104 times, 34.7 per game. In their three losses, the Rams ran it just 49 times, 16.3 times per game. 
• The Steelers allow the fourth most rushing yards (143.8) per game, but over the past three games, that number falls to 111 yards per game.
• K'yren Williams has paced the Rams running backs, playing 337 snaps. Ronnie Rivers is next in line but has only seen the field for 40 plays. This week's projected starter, Zach Evans, only has six snaps played in his rookie season. 
• Williams has 399 more rushing yards than any other Rams ball carrier. Williams ran for 158 yards last week despite Los Angeles only running the ball three times in the first half against Arizona. But the Rams opened the third quarter with eight-straight called running plays. Based off EPA, Williams was the best running back in the league in Week 6.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Through five games, these are the Steelers leaders in special teams snaps: Nick Herbig (107), Conner Heyward, Miles Boykin and Miles Killebrew (98), James Pierre, Mark Robinson and Elijah Riley (97). Next in line is Chandon Sullivan, who has participated in 67 plays on special teams. 
• There has only been one field goal missed in a Steelers game this season and Chris Boswell is perfect (10 of 10) in his field goal attempts. Boswell also has a 95% touchback percentage on his kickoffs. Rams kicker Brett Maher has missed four field goal attempts.

MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT

January 20th, 1980: Super Bowl XIV: Steelers 31, Rams 19, Rose Bowl

The Rams and Steelers don't meet all that often, but did meet once in the Super Bowl. After finishing the regular season with a 9-7 record, Los Angeles advanced through the NFC playoff field to play the mighty Steelers, who were gunning for a fourth Super Bowl victory in six seasons. The Rams led this game 13-10 at halftime. But the dynastic Steelers controlled the fourth quarter, eventually pulling away with Terry Bradshaw earning Super Bowl MVP honors.

KEY MATCHUPS

Rams WRs Cooper Kupp & Puka Nacua vs. Steelers Cornerbacks - Top wide receivers have put up big numbers against the Steelers this year. They face an impressive pair this week in Kupp and Nacua, who took the league by storm as a rookie while Kupp was sidelined to start the year. Kupp caught seven passes for 148 yards and a touchdown last week, but Nacua came back to Earth catching just four balls for 26 yards. He did drop a ball in the end zone. Since returning from his hamstring injury, Kupp is two for two with 100-yard receiving games. 

Steelers Interior OL vs. Rams DT Aaron Donald - The Pittsburgh native and University of Pittsburgh product is still an elite player. He had three tackles for loss last week despite constant double teams. The three time Defensive Player of the Year will once again demand double teams snap after snap against his hometown team.