If there aren’t going to be many more wins, let’s at least get a little weird.
– Let’s rip the band-aid off. This one hurts my soul. The Steelers have now allowed 35+ points three times this season, meaning they’ve allowed that much in seven games over the last two seasons. From 2012 to 2020, the Steelers allowed 35+ points a total of just eight times. From 2000 to 2011, the team also allowed 35+ points a total of seven times. In what used to be a decade number, Pittsburgh’s now doing it in less than two full seasons.
– Pittsburgh’s offense scored a season-high 30 points in yesterday’s game, their most in 364 days when they put up 37 in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on November 21st, 2021. So the Steelers are now 0-2 in their last two games when they put up 30+ and 0-3 when you include the 2020 Wild Card loss to the Cleveland Browns, a 48-37 defeat.
They haven’t won a game in which they’ve scored 30+ points since beating the Bengals 36-10 in Week 10 of the 2020 season.
– The Steelers had their longest rushing TD (19 yards) and receiving touchdown (24 yards) of the season in the Bengals’ game.
– Bengals’ RB Samaje Perine had more receiving touchdowns yesterday (three) than any Steelers’ player has had the entire season. No Steeler has more than two.
– Perine is the first RB since Cleveland’s Larry Poole in 1977 to have three receiving touchdowns in one game against the Steelers. Those were the only three receiving scores of Poole’s career.
– Yesterday marked the second time this season the Steelers allowed a three receiving touchdown performance, Perine joining Eagles’ WR A.J. Brown. It’s the first time the Steelers have allowed multi-three touchdown catch performances since 2015 when Rob Gronkowski and Doug Baldwin did the same. It’s the only other time it’s happened since the 1970 merger.
– The Steelers have thrown seven touchdown passes through ten games, their fewest over that span since 2001 when they also threw seven.
– Najee Harris had his first multi-rushing touchdown game of his NFL career Sunday. It was the first time he’s accomplished it since January of 2021, his final college game and Alabama’s national championship win over Ohio State.
– With four catches for only 21 yards yesterday, Diontae Johnson is averaging only 8.9 yards per reception on 51 grabs.
– Despite playing just 12 quarters this season, T.J. Watt is tied for second on the team in interceptions (two) and has sole possession of third place in sacks (1.5).
– Pittsburgh batted down five passes at the line Sunday: two by Watt, one by Myles Jack, one by Robert Spillane, and one by Tyson Alualu.
– In their Week 1 loss, the Cincinnati Bengals were just 2-5 in the red zone. In Sunday’s win, they went 3-3. That was the difference.
– Until their final offensive possession, the Steelers had 67 yards of total second-half offense.
– I have nothing to compare this to but the Steelers have stemmed their front (shifted the front pre-snap) to draw an incredible six false starts over their last three home games. Three against Tampa Bay, one against New Orleans, and two on Sunday against Cincinnati. Opposing offenses using silent counts and reacting to the movement.
– Since 2001, as far back as PFR’s data tracks, the Steelers have never allowed two 90+ yard TD drives in one game. Until Sunday, when they gave up 92 and 93-yard touchdown drives.
– Against the Bengals this season, the Steelers went a combined +7 in the turnover battle. But they were outscored 57 to 53 and split the series.
– If it felt like the Steelers were always facing third down, you’d be right. Pittsburgh had a third down on exactly 25% of their snaps Sunday, 17 of 68. Compare that to the Bengals, who faced that down just 13.5% of the time, nine of 65.
– Finally, the Steelers have started the 2022 season 3-7. It’s the first time they’ve had such a poor start to the season since 2003 and only the third time since Chuck Noll arrived they’ve been in this position. The other year was 1986. It’s happened to them twice in the pre-Noll era, in 1948 and 1964. Pittsburgh won no more than six games in any of those years.
