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.
1990, 1970
That’s how far back you’d have to go to find the last time the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers averaged fewer points per game than they are this season, respectively. For the Patriots, they sit at a league-worst 12.3 points per game. In 1990, they averaged 11.3. For the Steelers, they currently sit at 16.0. You gotta go back to 1970 to find a worse output on a per-game basis, the Steelers finishing that season at 15.0.
Clearly, no one is expecting a lot of points here. Frankly, both teams will be content with just topping their seasonal marks. For the Patriots, they haven’t scored more than 12 points since Week Nine. For the Steelers, they haven’t topped 16 since Week 10. Ugly all around.
17.0, 5.9
The former is the yards per catch from WR George Pickens, the latter the yards per carry by RB Jaylen Warren. Those rank second and first in the NFL, respectively, which you think would signal a high-powered offense. Alas, not quite. But Pickens has been a downfield playmaker even if it doesn’t always feel like it given his quiet streak prior to the Arizona Cardinals game.
42.3
That’s the average for P Pressley Harvin III since Week 10. Of punters with at least 10 boots, that ranks 25th out of 26 players, only better than Buffalo’s Sam Martin (40.9). And that doesn’t take into account his net, which has also been miserable (37.1). That’s not acceptable. Harvin had a decent stretch in the early to middle part of the season but has fallen off as the Steelers’ special teams have faltered across the board due to penalties, poor coverage units, and even a Chris Boswell missed field goal (though he’s been excellent otherwise).
In what’s shaping up to be a close and low-scoring game, special teams might decide this thing. Pittsburgh needs to win field position, an aspect it has lost the last two weeks.
45
The number of rushing attempts Pittsburgh had in its last game started by QB Mitch Trubisky, who will be under center tonight. That resulted in a grind-it-out 24-16 win over the Carolina Panthers. Najee Harris carried the ball 24 times while Jaylen Warren had 11. Ideally, a similar game plan will be used, reducing the risk of a Trubisky interception, but the Patriots have one of the NFL’s strongest run defenses. Pittsburgh’s running game has been excellent but it’s in for a big-time challenge tonight.
52.9
The run-success rate for Warren, tops on the team. If it holds, it’ll be the highest rate of a Steelers runner with at least 100 seasonal carries since Le’Veon Bell’s 53.3-percent mark back in 2016. Since 1994, only one other running back in Pittsburgh has had a higher mark than Warren’s: Isaac Redman in 2011 (53.6 percent).
