The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New Orleans Saints 16-10 in Week 7, and the difference was on the ground. Pittsburgh ran for 148 yards on 30 carries, while New Orleans managed 18 yards on 17 attempts.
Pittsburgh also converted 10 of 16 third downs, held the ball for just over 32 minutes and did not turn it over once. The Saints threw for more yards, but they had almost nothing on the ground to balance it.
How It Happened
Pittsburgh opened the scoring at 10:51 of the first quarter with Chris Boswell's 28-yard field goal. It was the only score of the opening period.
The second quarter carried most of the action. Daniel Carlson tied it with a 38-yard field goal for New Orleans, and Pittsburgh answered at 6:45 when Aaron Rodgers found Darnell Washington for a 4-yard touchdown. The Saints drew level again at 1:45 on Tyler Shough's 1-yard scoring pass to Devaughn Vele.
Boswell then hit from 47 yards as time expired in the half, sending Pittsburgh into the break up 13-10.
Boswell added a 39-yard field goal with 14 seconds left in the third quarter for the final points of the day. Neither team scored in the fourth, and New Orleans could not find the touchdown it needed.
Key Performers
Chris Boswell, PIT: 3 field goals (28, 47, 39 YDS), 1 extra point
Darnell Washington, PIT: 4-yard TD reception from Aaron Rodgers
Pittsburgh rushing: 30 ATT, 148 YDS, 4.9 per carry
Pittsburgh passing (team): 19-30, 195 net YDS, 0 INT
New Orleans passing (team): 30-38, 263 net YDS, 1 INT
Boswell accounted for 10 of Pittsburgh's 16 points. The Steelers' only touchdown came on the Rodgers-to-Washington pass in the second quarter.
The Pittsburgh run game produced 10 first downs, one more than the Steelers picked up through the air.
What It Means
Pittsburgh moves to 5-2. The Steelers are 3-0 at home and 2-2 on the road, so winning a neutral-site game away from their own stadium is a useful marker for a team that has been more comfortable in its own building.
New Orleans falls to 2-5. The Saints are 2-1 on the road but 0-4 at home, and even a relocated home game did not break that pattern. On paper they were competitive here, converting both fourth-down tries and completing 30 of 38 passes.
The problem was how one-dimensional the offense was. Just 3 of the Saints' 19 first downs came on the ground, and they averaged about 1 yard per carry. New Orleans also scored only once in 3 red-zone trips.
For Pittsburgh, the concern is the red zone. The Steelers scored 1 touchdown in 4 trips inside the 20, and a 6-point win leaves little room if that does not improve.