First place. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense is in first place. Let’s gather ’round and celebrate the news of…I’m just kidding, there’s no good news here. It’s true Pittsburgh is in first place in at least one category. But it’s one of the graphs where you don’t want to be first. Through the NFL’s first six weeks, the Steelers lead the league with the highest three-and-out percentage in football at over 47 percent.
That info was provided by data-cruncher Arjun Menon, who posted a handy graph earlier today on Twitter.
Pittsburgh’s three-and-out rate is easily the highest in football, a couple of percentage points above the New England Patriots. The Cincinnati Bengals (43 percent) and Green Bay Packers (41 percent) are the only other teams even in the 40s. The true best mark in football, the lowest percentage, goes to the Philadelphia Eagles’ 24 percent. Essentially, the Steelers have double the three-and-out rate of the cross-state Eagles.
It’s just one of many numbers that highlight how bad the Steelers’ offense has been. And it’s an obvious reason why scoring points has been a painful endeavor. Offensively, Pittsburgh has only 15 scoring drives this season, possessions that ended in touchdowns or field goals. That’s tied for 30th in football with the New York Giants and only ahead of the New England Patriots’ 13. With 63 total offensive points scored, the Steelers are averaging just 12.6 points per game. To put that number into perspective, the Miami Dolphins are averaging 9.3 points per quarter.
The Steelers’ Week Seven opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, is far better at sustaining drives. In fact, they have the fourth-lowest three-and-out mark at just 26 percent. But that was aided by a strong running game. Heading into this weekend, the team is without top running back Kyren Williams and backup Ronnie Rivers, leaving rookie Zach Evans and veterans Royce Freeman and Myles Gaskin to try and replicate their success.
