Analyzing the Steelers Week 16 win over the Raiders, by the numbers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have their second set of back-to-back wins of the 2022 season. Coming through with a victory in a very important game for both those who put on the black and gold before them, as well as the passionate fan base, finding a way to win was ultimately all that mattered.

So without further ado, here are some of the numbers involved in the Steelers win over the Raiders.

+2

The Pittsburgh Steelers were on the right side of the turnover margin in their victory on Saturday night. After Kenny Pickett threw his first interception since before the Steelers bye week, the Steelers responded with an Arthur Maulet interception on the very next play. Minkah Fitzpatrick added another interception, but the Steelers couldn’t turn either of them into points. The final takeaway, a Cam Sutton interception in the final seconds, helped seal the victory.

7

The Steelers trailed the Las Vegas raiders 7–0 at the end of the first quarter. In the seven previous games in 2022 when the Steelers trailed after the first 15 minutes, they were 0–7. This was the Steelers first victory of the year in which they didn’t hold a lead at the end of the first quarter.

50

down seven points at halftime, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense came through in a big way in the second half. Pitching the shutout and having three takeaways, the Steelers defense only surrendered 50 yards of offense in the second half. With 15 yards coming on the ground and 58 yards passing by Derek Carr, it was the 23 yards lost in sacks that helped bring down the number. The Steelers also only surrendered three first downs to the Raiders over the final 30 minutes.

5 of 14

Despite getting the victory, the Steelers offense struggled to sustain and finish drives throughout the game. Despite being two for two on fourth down, the Steelers were only 5 of 14 on third-down conversions for a 36% conversion rate. It was the Steelers lowest third-down conversion rate since their Week 8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and ended their four-game streak of at least 50% on third down conversions.

14

The Steelers rookie wide receiver came through late after not having much action come his way in the first half. With only one reception for 8 yards on one target through the first 30 minutes, George Pickens ended the game with 57 receiving yards on five receptions on five targets. Most importantly, number 14 had a 14-yard touchdown reception to win the game.

2.9

The Steelers run defense was in full force again on Saturday night. Although it wasn’t the dominating performance of holding their opponent under 30 yards like they have done twice in 2022, holding the Las Vegas Raiders to only 58 rushing yards in a night where both teams wanted to run the ball because of the weather was a very important feat. The Steelers held the NFL’s leading rusher, Josh Jacobs, to 44 yards on 15 carries for a 2.9 yards per attempt average. It was Jacobs lowest average of the season and his lowest since Week 14 of 2021.

2 of 9

The Steelers also had an answer for the Raiders’ prolific wide receiver Davante Adams. Targeted nine times on the night, the most of any Raiders wide receiver and the same as the Steelers leading target Najee Harris, Adams only had two receptions for 15 yards in the game.

39

On a night where the game was played in single digits where temperatures felt like they were below zero, the Steelers still had Kenny Pickett with 39 passing attempts in the game. Pickett completed 26 of his attempts for 244 yards with a touchdown along with an interception. Even better, Pickett was not sacked on the night.

21

After the Steelers took the lead when Cam Sutton had a diving interception to get the ball back, a single first down would end of the game without having to punt the ball back to the Raiders for one last attempt to either tie or win. On 2nd and 10 with 0:25 remaining, the Steelers ran an end around play with tight end Connor Heyward which gained 21 yards after he wisely slid down in bounds to seal the game. It was Heyward‘s first rushing attempt of his NFL career.

1

On a night where the Steelers celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception and retired the late Franco Harris‘ jersey number, the only thing that ultimately mattered in this game was the Steelers finding a way to secure the victory. In doing so, the Steelers have brought the record up to 7–8 and have an opportunity next week to even their record before their final home game.

So there are some numbers to help put the Steelers Week 16 win in perspective. The Steelers stayed the course as the defense came through to give the offense another opportunity late in the game.

So what numbers from Saturday night’s game stand out to you? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.