It gets sadder. And weirder. But mostly sadder. Let’s dive in.
– With the Cleveland Browns’ 13-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, it marks the lowest combined scoring game between these two teams since Pittsburgh won 13-9 in the 2011 regular-season finale.
The last time there’s been this little scoring in a Steelers loss was in 2009 when they fell 13-6. At the time, it was Pittsburgh’s fifth-straight loss of the year.
– Kenny Pickett finished the game with just 106 yards passing. It’s the fewest by a Steelers QB who played the entire game (minimum 10 passing attempts) since Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges in a 2019 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. That day, Hodges went 9-of-25 for just 95 yards.
– Sunday, Pickett finished with 28 attempts, making his 106 yards on that many attempts the fewest by a Steeler since Kordell Stewart in 1998, a 21-0 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Stewart threw 35 times that day for 82 yards and three picks. Pickett is one of just seven box scores in team history with that many attempts for so few yards.
Pickett is the third quarterback this season across the NFL to have such a stat line. And two have come against the Browns’ defense. The other was by AFC North quarterback-mate Joe Burrow, who threw for 82 yards on 31 attempts in their season-opening loss. At least Burrow had the excuse of being very clearly hurt with his calf injury.
– Pickett at least completed 14 passes, a high amount considering how few yards he had. In fact, Pickett is the first Steelers quarterback to complete at least 14 passes and throw for just 106 yards (or less). The previous mark was set by Stewart in 2001, who completed 15 passes for 107 yards.
– Since 2014, there has been only one other quarterback to do what Pickett’s done the last month – four games with at least 15 attempts, no more than 160 yards, and no more than one passing touchdown in each game. The other? Rookie Josh Allen. And don’t expect Pickett to follow suit with Allen’s career arc.
Prior to Allen, the quarterbacks with such a four-game streak were Geno Smith, Ryan Lindley, Christian Ponder, Blaine Gabbert, and Derek Anderson. Not great company.
– There is one positive Kenny Pickett stat, though it’ll hardly make you feel much better. He’s now gone six straight games without an interception. With a minimum of at least 15 passing attempts per game, Pickett becomes the second quarterback in team history to have six straight such games over the course of one season, joining Bubby Brister in the 1989 season. No Steeler has ever done it seven straight. Of course, Pickett’s very conservative nature is arguably part of the team’s problem.
A list of QBs in the NFL with the most recent six-game streaks without an interception: Jared Goff, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson, Aaron Rodgers (again), Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson (again), Derek Carr, Aaron Rodgers (again again), and Drew Brees. Kenny Pickett – he’s just like those guys!
– Ok, enough on Pickett. Something positive, something positive. Save the day, Jaylen Warren. Here’s my favorite stat of the weird of the week. His 74-yard rushing touchdown was the longest rushing score by a Steeler since Willie Parker’s famous 75-yard run against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL in February 2006. Closing in on a 20-year span.
It’s the longest run of any outcome by a Steeler since RB Le’Veon Bell’s 81-yard run in 2014 against the Carolina Panthers.
– Warren finished the day with nine carries for 129 yards. He becomes the third Steeler in team history with over 100 yards on fewer than 10 attempts and only the second running back. The last Steeler to do it was QB Kordell Stewart – his name coming up a lot today – who ran seven times for 103 yards in a 25-20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in 1998. Stewart did it twice in his Pittsburgh career.
The last and only other Steelers RB to pull off this feat was Barry Foster in 1991, running nine times for 121 yards and a touchdown in a 52-34 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Pittsburgh is 0-4 all-time when it has a player run for 100-plus yards on single-digit attempts.
– Warren now holds the Steelers’ all-time mark for most yards (129) on nine or fewer carries. Until yesterday, Foster’s 121 held the top spot for more than 30 years.
– Since 2017, there’s only been two running backs in the NFL to rush for at least 125 yards on single-digit carries. Both have occurred this season, both have come in the AFC North, and both have been accomplished by UDFAs. Warren and the Baltimore’s Ravens’ Keaton Mitchell are the two men, Warren on Sunday and Mitchell in Week Nine with a nine-rush, 138-yard, one-touchdown performance.
Since 2010, the only other player to do this was RB Jeremy Hill in 2016…also an AFC North man. And like Warren, Hill’s performance came against the Browns. And like Warren, Hill also had a 74-yard touchdown run. Neat!
– One more positive offensive stat. Pittsburgh has now run for 160-plus yards in three-straight games, going for 172 against the Browns. It’s the first time they’ve done it in three straight games over the course of a singular season since 2007. They haven’t done it four straight since 2001.
– Defensively, LB Elandon Roberts finished with 15 tackles today. It’s the most tackles by a Steelers player since Vince Williams had 16 in 2016.
– Punter Pressley Harvin III had nine punts Sunday. That’s the most by a Steeler since Jordan Berry had that many in 2019 against the Los Angeles Rams. The last punter to punt more for Pittsburgh in a game was Josh Miller, who had 12 in 2000.
Harvin averaged just 39.4 yards per punt, lowlighted by a 20-yard shank. He’s the first Steeler with at least nine punts to average under 40 yards per boot since Robin Stark in 1995, who averaged 38.8 yards in a win over the Houston Oilers.
– CB Chandon Sullivan intercepted his first pass since 2021. That pick also came against the Cleveland Browns. And it also came on 3rd and long. In 2019, it was 3rd and 19. Sunday, it was 3rd and 15. And both picks came while the opposing offense was on the other side of the 50.
– Pittsburgh has been outgained by their opponent in every single game this season.
– Pittsburgh has run fewer plays than their opponent in every single game this season.
– Pittsburgh has had fewer first downs than their opponent in nine of 10 games this year (Packers the exception).
– Pittsburgh has had less time of possession than their opponent in eight of 10 games this year (Raiders, Packers).
– Since 2000, the Steelers only had two games in which they recorded four or fewer first downs via the pass. A 2005 win over the Green Bay Packers and 2010 win over the Tennessee Titans.
It’s happened twice this season alone. And the Steelers’ luck has run out. They’ve lost both such games. Week Four to Houston and Sunday to Cleveland.
– Pittsburgh more than doubled the number of punts (nine) than it had passing first downs (four).
– The Steelers went 3-of-14 on third down in this game, their worst showing since a 2019 loss to the New York Jets when they replicated that mark.
– Cleveland used a 17-play drive to close out the first half. It’s the longest drive against the Steelers since…Cleveland in the 2021 regular season finale. That one ended in a touchdown. Sunday, the Steelers held them to three.
– Finally, one last punch to the gut. Pittsburgh lost Sunday’s game 13-10. Meaning, its streak of not scoring 30-plus points in a win continues. It’s now officially three years since the last time the Steelers have done it, their last example coming on Nov. 15, 2020 in a 36-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. It’s a streak of 51-straight regular-season games, the longest in football by a wide margin. The next closest are the Tennessee Titans, sitting at 28 games. Here’s the lowly leaderboard.
Longest Regular-Season Streaks Without 30+ Points & Win
1. Pittsburgh Steelers – 51 games (2020-Present)
2. Tennessee Titans – 28 games (2021-Present)
3. New England Patriots – 21 games (2022-Present)
3. Indianapolis Colts – 21 games (2022-Present)
