Welcome to your weekly Pittsburgh Steelers “stat pack,” five numbers you need to know to get ready for the team’s upcoming game. They could relate to the opponent, the Steelers themselves, and could involve an individual, unit, or something else. All to help you become the smartest fan for gameday.
Zero
As in, the number of rushing touchdowns the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense has this season. And the number of rushing touchdowns the Baltimore Ravens’ defense have allowed this year. It’s a matchup and run defense that doesn’t bode well for Pittsburgh and they haven’t had much success running into the teeth of the Baltimore front.
For the Steelers, it’s the first time since 1990 the team hasn’t scored on the ground through their first four games. If they stretch it to five straight, it’ll be a franchise first. Being able to control the ground game is key but there’s no easy path to do it against the Ravens.
Five
The number of Pittsburgh’s red zone trips this season, fewest in football. Only seven teams in the league have under ten red zone attempts this year and the Steelers simply haven’t been able to get inside the 20. Granted, they have a pair of 70-yard touchdowns but the Ravens keep a lid on things. Pittsburgh has to be able to string together drives and get inside the 20 instead of punting and settling for field goals.
14
Pittsburgh’s first quarter point total this season. A touchdown against Cleveland (a defensive score) and a touchdown to WR Calvin Austin III versus the Raiders. Seven offensive points in the first quarter is no good, obviously, and the Steelers continue to be one of the slowest starting teams in football. By comparison, Baltimore has 28 first quarter points this year.
2.66
Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson’s snap-to-throw time under new OC Todd Monken. That’s the ninth-fastest of any quarterback in football this year, quicker than Justin Herbert, Matthew Stafford, and C.J. Stroud. For Jackson last year, his number sat at exactly three seconds, the fifth-longest number in football.
Despite Jackson’s run-around ability, this revived passing game is getting the ball out on time. Making it harder to sack him, something the Steelers are accustomed to doing.
11-2
Mike Tomlin’s record in games following losses by 20 or more. It’s a stat Dave Bryan posted after the Steelers’ 30-7 Week One loss to the San Francisco 49ers and proved true in Week Two when Pittsburgh earned a hard-fought win over the Cleveland Browns. Now, the Steelers will try to do it again following a 30-6 Week Four beatdown to the Houston Texans. It’s not a stat you want to test often, these blowout losses have become increasingly common, but provides some hope this weekend.
