Goalscorers Michael Smith and Callum Paterson celebrate Sheffield Wednesday's win at Loftus Road
Sheffield Wednesday won the battle of Championship play-off hopefuls to leapfrog back above Queen's Park Rangers.
Second-half goals from substitute Michael Smith and Callum Paterson - making his first league start for more than a year - earned the Owls only their second win in their last seven league matches.
Rangers, who overtook their opponents on goal difference in midweek after a fourth consecutive win at Hull, had threatened intermittently but their best effort was a Kenneth Paal free-kick which bounced off a post.
Victory edges Danny Rohl's side into 10th, three points outside the play-off places while the Rs drop to 13th as their five-match winning streak ended at Loftus Road.
Rangers have been on a remarkable run since sitting in bottom spot in November - this was only their second league defeat in 14 matches, but they were well subdued by the visitors from South Yorkshire.
The home side bossed possession in the first half but a Kieran Morgan cross-cum-shot, which rolled narrowly past the far post, was the only moment to excite the Loftus Road fans.
Wednesday, playing on the break, carried the greater threat as Rs keeper Paul Nardi parried a Josh Windass snapshot, and his defence smuggled the ball off the toe of Djeidi Gassama as he sought to turn in the rebound.
Nardi had to be alert again just before the break as Michael Ihiekwe headed a corner goalwards and when the ball rebounded to him, fired in a low hard shot which was arrowing into the bottom corner until the keeper flung himself full length to somehow trap it one-handed.
A Ronnie Edwards header from a corner forced a good save from Owls keeper James Beadle, and Kenneth Paal's free-kick bounced off the outside of a post as Rangers stepped up the pace in the second half.
But it was Wednesday who struck the opening goal which was all about the enduring quality of Barry Bannan. The midfielder's cross picked out the run of Smith who guided his header beyond Nardi and in off the far post.
Paterson, a surprise selection by Rohl, had fired a good chance over the bar at 0-0 and saw a clever flick flash past the post after the opener.
But he made sure of the points with two minutes of normal time remaining, cutting in from the right and expertly picking out the far corner with his left foot.
QPR manager Marti Cifuentes told BBC Radio London:
"We started the game pretty well without creating a lot of chances against a team we knew would be very physical and tried to destroy our game as much as they can.
"It was not our best second half and they were more clinical than us.
"Refereeing should be about protecting the game as well, when there is one team that is trying to be proactive and one that is reactive, and is constantly stopping.
"Credit to them, they do it really well, and were clinical, but it seems today there were some situations that could have been reffed in a different way."
Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl told BBC Radio Sheffield:
"Credit to my team. I demanded one more push this week, and it's not easy to come to QPR and take something, they've had a good run.
"The first 15 to 20 minutes was not easy, a lot of set-pieces and not nice football, but we came step by step into the game and in the second half, in the right moments, we scored and then kept the clean sheet.
"It's a really good performance. There was a feeling after the Bristol City game [from others] that this was a bad season, but that's wrong.
"We were very focussed, very organised, and concentrated. In the second half I can't remember them having one chance against us."
