It’s time for your weekly charting notes, and given some weekly changes in circumstances, we have some interesting points to address this week for the Pittsburgh Steelers on the offensive side of the ball.
- As usual, we will start with a breakdown of the Steelers’ personnel packages over the course of the game.
- 11 (3WR, 1RB, 1TE): 25/61 (40.1%)
- 12 (2WR, 1RB, 2TE): 9/61 (14.8%)
- 13 (1WR, 1RB. 3TE): 7/61 (11.5%)
- 20 (3WR, 2RB, 0TE): 2/61 (3.3%)
- 21 (2WR, 2RB, 1TE): 8/61 (13.1%)
- 22 (1WR, 2RB, 2TE): 5/61 (8.2%)
- 23 (0WR, 2RB, 3TE): 2/61 (3.3%)
- 14 (0WR, 1RB, 4TE): 1/61 (1.6%)
- V-32 (victory form.): 2/61 (3.3%)
- 10 men (2WR, 1RB, 1TE) 1/61 (1.6%)
- This is the first time this season that the Steelers have used a no-TE package, when they had both Le’Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams on the field. It is also the first time they have used a no-WR package outside of the victory formation, and the first time they have used four tight ends, including a tackle-eligible.
- This is also the lowest total percentage of snaps the Steelers have used in their ‘base’ 11 offense with three wide receivers on the field. The fact that they got out to a big lead and had injuries at the wide receiver position goes a long way toward explaining that.
- As a result, tight end Jesse James only played 53 of 61 potential snaps. On six of the snaps that he did not play, Xavier Grimble served as the team’s lone tight end on the field, something that we saw for only a couple snaps last week, but that is clearly an indication in Grimble’s favor.
- Overall, both Grimble and David Johnson played a lot, 20 and 24 snaps respectively. All three were on the field together for 13 snaps.
- Six of Johnson’s snaps came lined up as a fullback. That accounts for a portion of the multiple-back sets, but Williams and Bell were also on the field together nine times.
- After a dip in play-action usage last week, the Steelers used it again on Sunday six times on 30 designed pass attempts, a 20 percent usage rate, which if I’m not mistaken was the highest of the season.
- Ben Roethlisberger completed five of six passes off of play action for a total of 125 yards and a touchdown, averaging 20.83 yards per pass attempt. The shortest completion was a four-yard pass to Bell on third and one.
- The Chiefs did not blitz much, nor were they effective doing so. Roethlisberger completed three of four pass attempts against the blitz for 41 yards, with the lone incompletion being a deep target.
- The Steelers made use of the tackle-eligible six times against the Chiefs, their highest use this year, with four snaps from Ryan Harris before he had to play right tackle, and then two from Chris Hubbard before he came in at center.
- Average pass distance: 11.12
- Antonio Brown: 18.33 (6 targets)
- Sammie Coates: 13.75 (8 targets)
- Markus Wheaton: 30 (1 target)
- Darrius Heyward-Bey: 29 (1 target)
- Jesse James: 6.5 (2 targets)
- David Johnson: 9 (1 target)
- Xavier Grimble: 16 (1 target)
- Le’Veon Bell: .67 (6 targets)
- DeAngelo Williams: 1 (1 target)
