WHAT WENT RIGHT
* The Steelers won the toss and took the football, and even though their initial possession didn't end up in the end zone, it was a productive one nonetheless. Ben Roethlisberger completed 7-of-8 for 71 yards on the drive, with two of those going to Le'Veon Bell for 30 yards. The drive consumed 7:42, and the Steelers converted 2-of-3 on third down. Josh Scobee finished it with a 21-yard field goal.

• One of the things the Rams like to do on defense is rotate their personnel a lot along the line, both to keep those players fresh and to take advantage of all of the high-pedigree talent they have assembled there. On the Steelers' second offensive possession, Ben Roethlisberger was deployed in the no-huddle, which prevented the Rams from making the kinds of substitutions they like to make on defense.

• Big play by Will Allen on the Rams' second offensive possession. On a third-and-6 from the St. Louis 49-yard line, Nick Foles threw a short pass to Tavon Austin in the flat, and Allen came up quickly to make an open-field tackle for a 3-yard gain to set up a fourth-and-3 and an apparent punting situation.

• It was an apparent punting situation, because the Rams then attempted a fake, with punter Johnny Hecker attempting a pass to Stedman Bailey, who was the gunner on the left side of the formation. Hecker's pass skipped to Bailey, and the Steelers took over on downs right near midfield.

• It was Ross Cockrell who made the play on third down on the Rams' third possession. After St. Louis took advantage of the interception by Janoris Jenkins to drive to a third-and-4 at the Pittsburgh 31-yard line. From there, Nick Foles attempted a quick slant pass to Kenny Britt who was being covered by Cockrell. As the ball arrived, Cockrell dove and batted the ball down, and the Rams settled for a 49-yard field goal to cut the Steelers' lead to 9-3 with 2:05 left in the first half.

• The Steelers got lucky on the opening possession of the second half, but there's nothing wrong with that. After isolating James Harrison in coverage on tight end Lance Kendricks after play-action, Nick Foles threw deep to a wide-open Kendricks, who dropped the ball inside the Steelers 10-yard line. Arthur Moats sacked Foles for an 8-yard loss on the next play, and the Rams ended up punting the ball into the end zone.

• A very nice defensive stand for the Steelers during the second half of the fourth quarter. After a 34-yard pass interference penalty gave the Rams a first down at the Pittsburgh 31-yard line, St. Louis followed that up with a 24-yard gain on a jet-sweep by Chris Givins that set up a first-and-goal at the 7-yard line. Sean Spence dropped Tre Mason for a 2-yard loss on the next play, and then there were two false start penalties on the Rams sandwiched between an incomplete pass. On third-and-goal from the 19-yard line, Nick Foles scrambled for 10 yards and the Rams settled for a field goal that made it 9-6, with 5:38 remaining in the game.

• Will Allen made a great play to track the football and make the interceptions that was the big play in icing the Steelers' win, but Rams quarterback Nick Foles helped make it possible by putting a lot, and maybe too much, air under the ball.

• After missing two of his first four field goal attempts, Josh Scobee was 2-for-2, and those points proved to be the difference in the victory.

• Replay was used properly to overturn what was ruled on the field as a catch by Kenny Britt that converted a last-gasp fourth down situation for the Rams with 1:19 to play. The Steelers took possession of the ball, took a knee a couple of times and the game was over.

WHAT WENT WRONG
* Kickoff was delayed 28 minutes via a combination of an antiquated facility and some poor decisions on the part of the Rams. During player introductions, the Rams ran onto the field between several contraptions spewing pyrotechnics into the air. Being that it's an indoor facility with an artificial playing surface that is in fact flammable, it wasn't exactly out of the realm of possibility something bad could happen. A portion of the playing surface inside the 5-yard line in fact did catch on fire, and the extinguishing/cleanup process delayed kickoff by 28 minutes.

• The Steelers' third offensive possession began with an 11-yard pass to Heath Miller that was nullified by a penalty on Kelvin Beachum for illegal hands to the face. That set up a first-and-20, and on second-and-19, Ben Roethlisberger tried to go deep to Markus Wheaton on a double move down the left sideline. Roethlisberger's pass was thrown assuming Wheaton would take the route deep and close to the sideline, while Wheaton ran his pattern closer to the numbers. The pass then was intercepted by Janoris Jenkins at the St. Louis 19-yard line.

• What absolutely could not happen to the Steelers happened to the Steelers with a little more than five minutes left in the third quarter of a game they led, 9-3. On a sack by safety Mark Barron, Roethlisberger's left knee was injured, and he was taken into the locker room on a cart. Mike Vick replaced him at quarterback.

• On a third-and-4 from the Rams 35-yard line midway through the fourth quarter, Nick Foles threw deep down the left sideline for Kenny Britt. Antwon Blake was flagged for pass interference to give the Rams a first down at the Pittsburgh 31-yard line.