We’re still wrapping up the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers season. If you follow the site, you know we track each sack and penalty the team allows throughout the season. Here, we’ll sum up our final results and analyze the data.
The final figures.
SACK BREAKDOWN (SEASON)
Dan Moore Jr.: 6.5
Coverage/Scheme: 4.5
Mason Cole: 3.5
Broderick Jones: 3.0
Jaylen Warren: 3.0
Kenny Pickett: 2.5
James Daniels: 2.0
Najee Harris: 2.0
Matt Canada: 1.5
Chukwuma Okorafor: 1.5
Mitch Trubisky: 1.5
Mason Rudolph: 1.5
Isaac Seumalo: 1.0
Receivers: 1.0
Nate Herbig: 0.5
And the same with penalties.
PENALTY BREAKDOWN (SEASON – ACCEPTED PENALTIES ONLY)
Chukwuma Okorafor: 4
Mason Cole: 3
James Daniels: 2
Dan Moore Jr.: 2
Broderick Jones: 1
Isaac Seumalo: 1
– Overall, the numbers are pretty solid. Only one offensive lineman allowed more than 3.5 sacks all season, LT Dan Moore Jr. and his 6.5. That’s one more than he gave up in 2022. On paper, Cole allowing only 3.5 sacks doesn’t look like a ton but for a center, it’s high. In fairness, Pat Meyer’s scheme puts more on the center’s plate, but Cole had a poor year in tape and in metrics like these.
– An unusually high number of sacks allowed by running backs. Five combined from Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris. Last year, we charged them with just 1.5 sacks.
– One thing Kenny Pickett should get credited for. As a rookie, we charged him for nine sacks in 12 starts. This year, we charged him for 2.5 sacks in 12 starts. A positive. Overall, quarterbacks were blamed far less for sacks in 2023 (5.5) than we did in 2022 (13). Big difference.
– From a penalty aspect, really good numbers here. Last year, the Steelers’ most penalized linemen were Kevin Dotson (10) and Moore (nine). Overall, the line played clean. Moore drastically reduced his flags while Isaac Seumalo had just one accepted penalty against him the entire year. Impressive.
– Putting the numbers in context is key. Here are the number of pass reps per sack allowed. Higher the number, the better.
Isaac Seumalo: 623.0 (623 pass-pro snaps)
James Daniels: 284.5 (569 pass-pro snaps)
Mason Cole: 183.1 (641 pass-pro snaps)
Nate Herbig: 180.0 (90 pass-pro snaps)
Chukwuma Okorafor: 178.0 (267 pass-pro snaps)
Broderick Jones: 148.7 (446 pass-pro snaps)
Dan Moore Jr.: 88.2 (573 pass-pro snaps)
Overall, good numbers. Seumalo’s an elite figure, obviously. Cole’s in third place but his number dropped in a big way from 404 in 2022. Daniels dropped off too, but he’s still only allowed 2.5 sacks in two years with the team, missing very little time. Moore has the worst figures and has been the worst among Steelers linemen the last two seasons. He was second-to-last in 2021 and the lowest of the team’s main starters.
