PITTSBURGH — It has been a long time since Arizona Cardinals fans saw their team win a game on the road. 385 days to be exact.
But the Cardinals did just that on Sunday as they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-10, at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, ending a nine-game road losing streak.
It was a rainy Sunday in the Steel City for the matchup between Arizona and Pittsburgh, who played a low-scoring first half.
The Steelers started the scoring on their first drive. A 38-yard pass from quarterback Kenny Pickett to wide receiver George Pickens ultimately led to a 29-yard field goal from Chris Boswell to give Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead.
The Cardinals would tie the game later in the first quarter when Matt Prater hit a 51-yard field goal, which was the 78th 50-plus-yard field goal of his career.
However, tough defense from both teams combined with the rainy weather would keep the Cardinals and Steelers off the board until late in the second quarter.
The Steelers took up the majority of the second quarter on a 12-play, eight-minute drive which saw them lose Pickett to an ankle injury after a scramble near the endzone.
Pickett was replaced by backup Mitchell Trubisky, but Pittsburgh was unable to score on fourth and goal, giving the Cardinals the ball at their own one-yard line with less than five minutes to go in the first half.
Arizona responded with one of their best drives of the season, a 99-yard drive that was capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kyler Murray to tight end Trey McBride to take a 10-7 lead. That would be the score at halftime.
It would be an extended halftime break due to a weather delay. When play resumed, Pickett was officially ruled out and was seen on the sideline in a walking boot.
Arizona's defense would come up big on the Steelers' first drive of the second half, recovering a fumbled snap by Trubisky. That led to a one-yard touchdown run by former Steeler and Pennsylvania native James Conner to give Arizona a 17-3 lead.
But then, lightning forced the second weather delay of the game, and both teams went back to their locker rooms and fans retreated from their seats.
It would be a little more than an hour before play would resume.
Pittsburgh got the ball first after the delay but was unable to cut into the Cardinals' lead as Boswell missed a 45-yard field goal wide right. That was just his second missed field goal of the season.
The Cardinals took their 14-point lead into the fourth quarter.
That lead grew on a nine-yard touchdown run by James Conner that made it 24-3 with 8:28 remaining.
The Steelers cut into the lead about four minutes later on a two-yard touchdown pass from Trubisky to Diontae Johnson, which made it 24-10. But the Steelers were unable to close the deficit any further as the Cardinals won their third game of the season.
TAKEAWAYS
Everything feels better after a win, right? This was still not a perfect game for the Cardinals. They had some issues with ball security in the second half as two handoffs were fumbled, but both were recovered by the Cardinals. Arizona was also outgained by the Steelers, but some key stops and turnovers helped the Cardinals earn this win. The good news is they held one of the best defensive players in the NFL, TJ Watt, in check for most of the game, holding him to just 0.5 sacks and one tackle for loss (even with him dealing with a leg injury in the second half). RB James Conner was great in his return home as he had 25 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns and TE Trey McBride also played great in Arizona's first game after releasing Zach Ertz with 8 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.
The last time the Cardinals won a game on the road was on November 13, 2022, when they beat the Los Angeles Rams, 27-17, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals will head to their bye week and prepare to welcome the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers to State Farm Stadium in Glendale on December 17.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made the State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers also play at the Footprint. Phoenix has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall; and Cactus League Spring Training.
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