PITTSBURGH - There were plenty of good things to savor from Saturday afternoon's Pittsburgh Steelers game against the St. Louis Rams at Heinz Field:
* Start, as always with the result. The Steelers won 27-0. The outcome didn't even seem to be in doubt when they only led 10-0 at the half.
* Nobody got hurt. The injury report started and ended with center Doug Legursky, who left after he sustained a shoulder strain on the first offensive series. He could have gone back into the game, coach Mike Tomlin said.
* Some injured players got rest. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and center Maurkice Pouncey were among those sitting this one out, as did linebacker LaMarr Woodley.
* The long-dormant running game got a workout against the Rams, who have a terrible run defense. Rashard Mendenhall ran for 116 yards, his first 100-yard game since Oct. 16, when he had 146 yards against Jacksonville.
If you were busy with last-minute Christmas plans, this was perfect.
It wasn't the kind of game that needed constant attention. You only had to cast an eye toward the TV now and then to check the score and make sure that all was well.
It was.
The Rams weren't much of a challenge, a characteristic of teams with 2-12 records who are playing on the road on Christmas Eve.
Their fine young quarterback, Sam Bradford, could have made things interesting, but he's out with an ankle injury.
Instead, the Rams had to start Kellen Clemens, one of those guys with two last names who sounds like a brokerage.
He completed 9-of-24 passes for 91 yards. Despite having no interceptions, his passer rating was an anemic 49.1.
The Steelers sacked him three times, and most of the Rams offense came from running back Steven Jackson, who had 103 yards.
The Rams helped the Steelers get their second shutout of the season by missing field goals from 52 and 33 yards.
It was a tidy afternoon to close the home season in advance of a regular season finale on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland.
"A good team win," is what Tomlin called it, and coaches like that.
The Steelers weren't spectacular in any phase of the game, but they were efficient in all three.
You have to like this stat: Aside from last Monday's 20-3 loss in San Francisco, the Steelers have allowed 9, 7, 3 and zero in points in the other four most recent games.
Given the caliber of opposition (Kansas City, Cincinnati, Cleveland and St. Louis) in those four games, it's hard to tell if that's a product of good defense or really poor offense.
Most likely it's a combination, and it's likely to continue in Cleveland this weekend.
Of course, Tomlin won't let his team think that way.
He'll warn them that the Browns are a trap, a potential pitfall on the way to the playoffs.
Whether Roethlisberger will play in Cleveland is yet to be determined. Surely another week of rest would help as the postseason looms.
Tomlin said that decision will come later in the week.
The players are off today to celebrate Christmas with their families.
They'll feel better about things based on what happened Saturday afternoon.
Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com.
