QPR were beaten at Bramall Lane despite a second-half fightback.
Trailing to goals from Richard Stearman and John Lundstrum, they hit back just after the half-hour mark through Luke Freeman’s strike.
Stearman put Sheffield United ahead on 27 minutes.
Former Rangers man Leon Clarke flicked on Mark Duffy’s corner and Stearman was on hand to fire home from close range at the far post.
Lundstrum doubled the lead early in the second half with a close-range finish after Billy Sharp had played the ball across goal.
Freeman pulled one back with a fine strike from near the edge of the penalty area – his fourth goal of the season.
Rangers then put the home side under plenty of pressure but were unable to find an equaliser.
Matt Smith missed their best chance when he headed straight at keeper Jamal Blackman from Freeman’s cross.
Early on, Alex Smithies and Nedum Onuoha combined to prevent a Blades goal.
After Smithies produced a superb save to deny Lundstram, Clarke’s follow-up was cleared off the line by Onuoha.
The home fans appealed in vain for a penalty when Sharp went down under a challenge from Josh Scowen.
Sharp then missed a great chance for United when he curled a shot wide with just Smithies to beat.
But ex-Fulham defender Stearman made no mistake when a chance came his way.
Rangers almost equalised before the interval when Washington’s header from Freeman’s corner was cleared off the line by Chris Basham.
United’s second goal proved decisive, although they had to hang on as Rangers pushed forward in the final stages.
This post was last modified on 23/02/2018