This is the same as the old “Numbers crunch” but with a repackaged title to show the emphasis on the more obscure stats from each game.
– Antonio Brown’s 195 yards receiving was the sixth most all-time in franchise history. And believe it or not, only the second-highest total in his career. He had nine catches for 196 yards and two touchdowns in 2013. His 195 yards today was more than what the Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, and St. Louis Rams each had as a team. He also tied the Carolina Panthers’ mark. Crazy.
The receiving record, if you’re wondering, is still held by Plaxico Burress who erupted for 253 yards in 2002, the infamous 34-34 tie against the Atlanta Falcons.
Brown’s 328 yards over the last two games, however, is a personal best.
If you want to have a lot of fun with extrapolation, Brown is on pace for 144 receptions, 2,624 yards, and 16 TDs.
– This is only the second time in his career for Ben Roethlisberger to have a day like this. Complete 75% of his passes (minimum 20 attempts) throw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Other one came last year in his six touchdown barrage against the Indianapolis Colts. Neil O’Donnell and Bubby Brister also achieved this feat once. Terry Bradshaw never did.
– Markus Wheaton’s 48 yard catch was the longest play of his NFL career. In fact, the last time he had a longer singular play came on November 3rd, 2012, his senior year at Oregon State. A 50 yard catch against Arizona State.
– Antwon Blake had 11 tackles, all of the solo variety. Impossible to say with certainty but I bet that hasn’t happened in quite some time.
– Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt combined for 2.5 sacks today. It’s the second time in their young career they’ve done that. Last time came against Kansas City in Week 16 a year ago. Tuitt also had a forced fumble that day.
– Ryan Shazier recovered a Carlos Hyde fumble today. It was his first fumble recovery since his junior year of high school. Long time coming.
– The Steelers’ offense ran only 52 plays today. They haven’t had less than that in a game since December of 2012.
This marks the first time in franchise history they’ve run 52 or fewer plays and scored at least 40 points. Mark of a high-octane offense.
– On the other hand, the San Francisco 49ers rattled off 82 plays. That’s the most allowed by the Steelers in a regulation game since 2002, when the Oakland Raiders had 87 in a 30-17 victory over Pittsburgh.
The last time the Steelers gave up that many plays and won? 1995 versus the New England Patriots.
– The Steelers haven’t forced five sacks while not allowing one of their own since November 24th, 2013. Until yesterday, this had only happened twice since 2010 and five times since the turn of the century.
As reader CodeNameJerk requested, this is also the last time the Steelers recorded five sacks without James Harrison being apart of one. On this day, Troy Polamalu, William Gay, and Heyward had one while Al Woods had two.
– Last cool stat for you. The Steelers possessed the ball for just 23:01 in Sunday’s win. The last time they held the ball for less time and won? You’d have to go all the way back to 1990 when the Steelers beat the Falcons 21-9. They had the ball for 20:14 that day.
In other words, that is the first time it’s happened since I’ve been born.
