The Pittsburgh Steelers went into Baltimore and escaped with a 28-24 victory. When breaking down the various numbers, they are very few which were in favor of the Steelers. But the only one that matters is the score.
After opening the season 7-0 for the second time in franchise history, here are some of the numbers which helped lead to the Steelers come from behind win on Sunday in Baltimore over the Ravens, as well as some numbers the Steelers had to overcome.
+3
One of the biggest factors in the Steelers being able to secure a victory on Sunday was the fact they were +3 in turnover margin. Although there was a Chase Claypool fumble in the first quarter, the Steelers had two interceptions and two fumble recovery’s against Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. The two interceptions lead to 14 points by the Steelers, one of which was a Robert Spillane touchdown less than a minute into the game. As for the fumbles, they’ll be discussed here shortly.
3/3
Although the Steelers did not put up a lot of numbers offensively, when they moved the ball into the red zone they were extremely efficient as they scored touchdowns on every trip. The Steelers did not even enter Ravens territory until the second half, but three red zone trips resulting in three touchdowns helped the Steelers to come from behind.
3/5
As for the Ravens, they had five trips into the red zone and scored a touchdown on three of them. As for the other two, they gave up the ball on two Lamar Jackson fumbles after moving the ball inside the Steelers 10 yard line. The first one was a Bud Dupree strip sack which was recovered by Vince Williams. The other fumble was of little consequence as the Steelers had stopped Jackson on fourth down and would have gained possession regardless.
86
One concern was the Steelers giving up so many rushing yards to the Baltimore Ravens. At halftime, the Ravens already had 179 rushing yards. But in the second half, the Ravens only had 86 rushing yards on 19 attempts. While they did give up plenty of yards at other times, there were several key drives where the Steelers shut down the Ravens run game in order to force a punt and help them get back into the game.
x 2.07
The Ravens more than doubled up the Steelers when it came to total yards in the game. Baltimore had 457 total yards on offense while the Steelers were held to 221 yards. With such a discrepancy, it’s just all the more impressive the Steelers were able to pull out the victory.
3/30
Another key area which helped the Steelers on Sunday was the fact they only had three penalties for a total of 30 yards. All three penalties were in the first half and there was one in each phase of the game. The Steelers had a highly questionable personal foul penalty against the defense which allowed the Ravens to continue their first scoring drive of the game. The Steelers also had an illegal block in the back penalty on special teams on a punt return but the official failed to identify the player. The only other penalty was a 5 yard false start on the offense by David DeCastro.
4
With the Steelers streak continuing to 64 straight games in which they have registered at least one sack, they finished with 4 on the day.
20
On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a 10-point halftime deficit. In franchise history, it was the 20th time the Steelers overcome a double-digit halftime deficit in order to win the game. The largest halftime deficit the Steelers have ever overcome in a victory was in 1997 when they trailed the Baltimore Ravens by 17 points at halftime only to win the game 42–34.
8
For the eighth time in franchise history, the Pittsburgh Steelers surrendered over 200 rushing yards in a game where they were victorious. The Ravens’ 265 net rushing yards is the most the Steelers have ever given up and a win. The previous record was when they surrendered 254 yards on the ground in Buffalo against the Bills in Week 7 of the 1972 season in a game they won 38-21. The biggest difference in that victory was the Steelers had 216 rushing yards of their own while they only had 48 on Sunday.
0
One concerning statistic from Week 8 was it was the second straight week where wide receiver James Washington did not register a catch. Washington has 17 receptions for 185 yards and two touchdowns in the Steelers first five games but only had one target for zero catches in each of the last two contests.
So there are some numbers to help evaluate the Steelers’ performance Sunday against the Ravens. While there were numerous statistics in which the Baltimore Ravens held the advantage, the ultimate statistic is the final score. So with 28 points to the Ravens 24, the Steelers are the team who gets another tally mark in the win column while they expand their AFC North lead to two games as well as currently holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Were there any other numbers which stood out to you? Please leave your answers in the comments below.