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.
15
That’s the longest run by either of the Green Bay Packers’ starting running backs, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. The Packers’ run game has sputtered this season and Jones has missed time with injury. With DL Cam Heyward back, this sets up for the Steelers to be able to stop the run. If they do, they’ll put the game on QB Jordan Love’s shoulders and that should give the Steelers a clear advantage in this game.
1.7, 3.1
Those are the interception percentage rates for QB Kenny Pickett and QB Jordan Love. Pickett at 1.7, Love at 3.1. On the surface, it may not seem like a huge difference. But there’s a wide gap between the two. Pickett’s INT rate is one of the best in football, ninth-lowest, while Love’s INT rate ranks 28th out of 32 qualifiers.
If turnovers are the difference in this game, the Steelers have a leg up.
-4.8
Jordan’s Love ‘Completion Percentage Above Expectation,’ an adjusted completion percentage. Here, it means Love’s completion rate should be nearly five points higher than it actually is, which suggests his receivers aren’t helping him out. It’s the second-largest disparity in the NFL negatively against a quarterback, only ahead of Colts QB Anthony Richardson (-5.8). Green Bay has an extremely young receiving corps and these numbers indicate that. Of course, some of these guys are also adjusting to catching passes from someone other than QB Aaron Rodgers.
21
The number of pass deflections by the Steelers and Packers defensive linemen and EDGE players. Green Bay has 11, and Pittsburgh has ten. Now, not all of those may have been at the line of scrimmage; they weren’t for Pittsburgh knowing Watt’s made plays dropping into coverage. But these defenses find ways to impact the passing game without directly pressuring the quarterback. Both quarterbacks have to be aware and defenses have to be ready to make a play off the bounce if a ball shoots up into the air.
25.9, 11.0
Those are the kick and punt return averages for the Packers this year, ranking third and eighth in the league. They have a dangerous return game and return man in CB Keisean Nixon, a 2022 All-Pro kick returner. His 25.9 average is tops in the NFL for any individual player this season.
