Analyzing the Steelers’ Week-10 win over the Panthers, by the numbers

There were so many numbers from the 52-21 victory over the Panthers on Thursday they could not all be contained with in one post. In case you missed it, I already posted one article dealing just with point totals at the end of each quarter. Here are some other numbers from the Steelers’ Week-10 victory:

3rd & 17

With 9:56 remaining in the second quarter, the Steeler’s faced a 3rd & 17 from the Carolina 32 yard line. The Steelers ended up behind the sticks following a 6 yard sack of Ben Roethlisberger and a completion to Antonio Brown which lost a yard. On 3rd down, a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster was knocked away by Julius Peppers. This play is of note because (1) it was Roethlisberger’s first of only three incompletions in the game, and (2) it was the only time Ben failed to convert a third down. Ben was an impressive 8/9 on third down conversions on the night.

50 yards

The following play after the Steelers had their only failed attempt on third down with Roethlisberger at quarterback, Chris Boswell came on for a field goal attempt. The 50-yard kick is Boswell’s season long. In the post game press conference, Mike Tomlin confirmed hitting this field goal was very important in his eyes.

1/1, 6 yards, 1 TD

Ben Roethlisberger played only one snap in the fourth quarter, but he made the most of it. On the play, Ben threw a 6-yard touchdown to Jaylen Samuels. After the ensuing extra point which gave the Steelers a lead of 52–14, Ben was given the rest of the night off as Joshua Dobbs got some regular-season snaps.

46 yards

The Steelers tallied five sacks of Cam Newton for a loss of 46 yards. The yards lost on sacks by the Panthers were more than the receiving yards of any wide receiver or tight end for Carolina. In contrast, the Steelers had two wide receivers with TD receptions longer than 46 yards in Antonio Brown (53 yards) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (75 yards).

158.3

For the fourth time in his career, Ben Roethlisberger finished the game on Thursday with a perfect 158.3 passer ratings. With four perfect QBR games as a starter, Ben is second all time only to Peyton Manning with five, one of which was because he was pulled after one drive in a Week-17 game in 2008. Of the four games where Ben had a perfect rating, the game Thursday against Carolina consisted of his most completions (22), touchdowns (5), yards (328), and his highest completion percentage (88%).

2

After the Patriots fell to the Titans on Sunday, the Steelers are currently the number two seed in the AFC with a record of 6-2-1. After 10 weeks of the season, the Steelers currently hold their own destiny for a first round bye in the playoffs.

Since there are more numbers than what could be included here, feel free to share your favorite stats in the comments below.