The Pittsburgh Steelers accomplished a ridiculous feat during their Monday Night Football win over the Cleveland Browns, becoming just the second team since 1991 to win a game despite having a negative offensive yardage output in the fourth quarter but still overcoming a fourth-quarter deficit. The NFL Research database only goes back to 1991, but the last time it happened was pretty recently, with the Jacksonville Jaguars accomplishing the feat in their Week 18 win over the Josh Dobbs-led Tennesee Titans in Week 18 of last season. That stat was passed along by Josh Dubow of the Associated Press.
Pittsburgh trailed 22-19 entering the fourth quarter but won 26-22 thanks to a T.J. Watt fumble return for a touchdown with 6:58 left in the game following a strip sack by Alex Highsmith. The Steelers had minus-seven yards in the fourth quarter. Jacksonville had minus-one in its win last season, with its only touchdown coming on a fumble return by LB Josh Allen with 2:51 left in the game in a 20-16 win.
That wasn’t the only rare feat the Steelers accomplished in the win, as they became only the eighth team since ‘91 to win without running a play inside their opponent’s 30-yard line, Dubow noted. The closest offensive play the Steelers ran was from the Cleveland 31-yard line, when QB Kenny Pickett threw an incomplete pass with 11:55 left in the third quarter. Chris Boswell nailed a 50-yard field goal on the next play.
The Steelers were the first team to accomplish that feat since the Miami Dolphins won a 15-13 matchup over the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 6, 2015. Much like Pittsburgh, Miami relied on its defense in that game, picking off two passes, including one returned for a touchdown, to score twice in a 20-second span in the second quarter. That was enough to beat the Matt Schaub-led Ravens.
The Steelers’ only offensive touchdown came on a 71-yard catch-and-run score by WR George Pickens, and the offense generally struggled throughout the night. Thanks to a pick-six by OLB Alex Highsmith on the first play from scrimmage and a fumble recovery touchdown by OLB T.J. Watt (off a Highsmith strip-sack) with 6:58 remaining the Steelers were able to get the win.
Needless to say, Pittsburgh needs to get its offensive woes figured out. Not running a play from inside the opponent’s 30-yard line is ridiculous, but at least the unit showed some splash on the Pickett-Pickens touchdown. But the Steelers won because of their defense, and largely the efforts of Highsmith and Watt.
Going forward, the offense absolutely has to be better. So far, it’s looked a lot like the team’s offense last season, and that’s not a good thing. The Steelers have just two offensive touchdowns through their first two games, and they’re lucky to be sitting at 1-1 today. These numbers go to show just how rare the Steelers’ win was with such offensive futility.
Pittsburgh’s offense will try to improve when the Steelers visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday Night Football in Week Three.
