Carter's Classroom: Put respect on the Edmunds name ☕ taken at Heinz Field (Steelers)

Terrell Edmunds (34) breaks up a pass to Rams receiver Josh Reynolds (83) as Joe Haden (23) watches on fourth down - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

The Steelers' 17-12 win over the Rams at Heinz Field on Sunday was not full of huge plays. But there were three crucial fourth-down plays in this game, and all were won by the Steelers — thanks to brothers Terrell Edmunds and Trey Edmunds.

Let's get into those plays:

Statistics won't show either of the Edmunds brothers having a huge game, but both were clutch. Terrell had eight tackles, one for a loss and one pass defended, while Trey had one rushing yard on four carries and two catches on three targets for 14 yards.

But who would have guessed that Trey, as an undrafted running back would get an interception in 2019 before Terrell? That's what happened when punter Johnny Hekker threw an interception on a fake punt.

Hekker catches the snap and looks immediately to his right for either a slant to Marqui Christian or an underneath crosser to David Long Jr. Cameron Sutton plasters Christian's slant while Jordan Dangerfield and Vince Williams pinch the pocket on Hekker. His only option was Long Jr., and Edmunds was right there waiting for the pick:

Edmunds' interception was a result of preparation and execution across the board from Danny Smith's special teams unit. But he would make an even bigger play on fourth down when the Steelers needed to convert a fourth-and-1 in their own territory midway through the fourth quarter.

The Rams commit hard to the run as Clay Matthews takes too sharp of an angle on Mason Rudolph's bootleg, taking out Sebastian Joseph-Day while Michael Brockers can do nothing but watch as Rudolph completes the pass to a wide open Edmunds in the flat.

The play caught the Rams so off-guard that both Edmunds and Nick Vannett were wide-open options for Rudolph:

When I talked to Trey after the game, I asked him about his mindset being the backup running back and making a play in that big of a situation.

"Just convert," Edmunds said to me at Heinz Field. "There was no telling who was going to get the ball, but we knew whoever got the ball has to convert. The only thing going through my head was to get past the sticks by any means necessary. I knew it was a possibility I would get the ball, but I wasn't sure because I trusted Mason to throw to Nick [Vannett] if I was covered."

Trey remained cool, calm and collected on both his fourth down plays. Then, his brother Terrell delivered on a huge fourth down play with less than two minutes to play.

Jared Goff hadn't had much success, but all the Rams needed was one touchdown to take the lead back. On fourth down, Goff takes his shot to Josh Reynolds on a fly route. Reynolds is double covered by Joe Haden and Terrell.

Haden establishes outside leverage because he knows he has Edmunds coming from deep safety to assist inside. The two make an incredibly tight passing window for Goff to hit the deep pass. As the ball comes down for Reynolds, Edmunds doesn't look for it, but he makes the fundamental play of making sure his hands find the hands of Reynolds to break up the pass. It's the perfectly legal and textbook move for the stop:

Edmunds gave an accurate description of his thought process during the play:

"Joe was on him on the outside and I was giving him some inside help," Edmunds said after the game. "I just was on my high horse, trying to get down there and help out Joe the best way I can. I got the ball out and it was a big play. Then we came back and Minkah Fitzpatrick got the interception at the end."

Edmunds has been a silent soldier for the Steelers this season. He doesn't have a turnover to his name, but his eight tackles against the Rams give him 62 on the season. That's second on the team behind Devin Bush's 69 tackles.

Edmunds was also a big part of the Steelers' defense, keeping Cooper Kupp without a catch for the first time this season. He provided extra support over the top against Kupp multiple times and had to cover other receivers, tight ends and running backs for the Rams.

"You have to guard whoever comes in front of you," Terrell said about his preparation. "Sometimes I'm guarding the outside receiver, sometimes the slot receiver, sometimes the running back or the tight end. I'm just going out there and playing my game. I have to work on my technique on some plays. But overall, I feel like I can go out there and match up with anybody."

There was no doubt the Edmunds brothers were excited about each other's contributions to a win that put the Steelers at 5-4, their first winning record of the 2019-20 season, and into the sixth playoff spot as a wild card team in the AFC.

"Man he caught a pick before me!" Terrell exclaimed when asked about Trey's interception. "He made a big play and he's been making big plays week after week. I'm definitely happy for him, and he's making a name for himself putting good film out there every week. I knew he could do it, he knew he could do it, and now we just making it."

When I asked Terrell about seeing both of them flourish in big spots, he cracked a big smile. He also wanted to talk about their other brother, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds for the Bills.

"Come on, man," Terrell started. "Our name holds weight! It's all about helping the team though. And [Tremaine] had a sack for a safety. Like I told you, our last name holds weight and we're just going to keep putting that on display."

Tremaine did have a sack that resulted in a safety, along with three tackles and a pass defended in the Bills 19-16 loss to the Browns.

Trey was also excited about the success of both his brothers.

"I'll second that for sure," Trey said, when I shared what Terrell said. "However we can engineer victories for this team and keep stacking wins; that's what we're all about."

The Edmunds brothers certainly showed what they were about in the most critical situations. Plays like those don't generate flashy highlights like Fitzpatrick's two turnovers and a second consecutive week with a touchdown. But they're part of the building blocks of how this Steelers team has dug itself from 1-3 to be 5-4 and in the AFC playoff picture.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY

Steelers vs. Rams, Heinz Field, Nov. 10, 2019 -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

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MORE CLASSROOM

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