We love a specific and obscure stat around here. I’m late to realizing this one, but in last week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Pat Freiermuth joined one of the rarest and quirkiest clubs. A breakout performance after weeks of invisibility, Freiermuth finished with five catches, 111 yards and two touchdowns.
When and how Freiermuth scored twice is notable. They came against long odds. His first score on 3rd and 18, his second on 2nd and 20. Back-breaking scores for the Bengals’ defense, huge moments for the Steelers’ offense. A reminder of those plays.
It finally got me thinking. How rare is that? For one player to score twice in the same on extremely long downs. Turns out, very rare.
Digging through Stathead’s play-by-play data, which took a minute to do, it’s only happened one other time since 1978. It wasn’t Jerry Rice, Antonio Brown, nor some other stud receiver. Nor a tight end like Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, or Travis Kelce. The only other occurrence before Freiermuth was Chicago Bears RB Matt Forte in a 2010 game against the Detroit Lions.
That day, Forte scored on a 1st and 20 screen pass for an 89-yard touchdown. He followed that up with a 2nd and 18 touchdown in the game’s final minutes, a shorter score but similar circumstance as Freiermuth’s. A go-ahead touchdown. Take a look.
Freiermuth and Forte. That’s the list as far as I can find it.
That’s just one quirky and specific stat. To the broader point, the game served as a reminder of Freiermuth’s impact. In passing circumstances, he’s still able to answer the call. Pittsburgh spent much of its winning streak playing with the lead and taking the air out of the football. That changed against Cincinnati. It’s no secret nor surprise that Freiermuth’s plays came in those “and long” moments. And his touchdowns created a little bit of specific history, too.
