Steelers vs. Jaguars Week 5 statistical breakdown

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 17-9 in Week 5 action, improving their overall record to 3-2. The score might not indicate how truly dominating the performance was for the team from the Steel City, but the statistics certainly back up that notion.

All that time for hardly anything

The Steelers dominated time of possession as they have for most of their five games this 2014 season. They held the ball for 35:17 compared to Jacksonville's 24:43. Those are dominating numbers, but disappointing since the offense was only able to score 10 points off of that lengthy time with the football.

Unbalanced again

The Steelers seemed determined to throw the football with regularity in this matchup and the statistics certainly back that up. The Steelers threw the ball 36 times and ran it 28 times. Out of the team's 20 first downs recorded in this game, 15 were through the air, while only five were on the ground.

3rd Down woes

When Todd Haley was brought in as the new offensive coordinator in 2012, he had the Steelers as the top-ranked 3rd down team in the NFL until Ben Roethlisberger was injured on Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs. The team hasn't done so well in third-down situations this year. Against the Jaguars they were 8-for-16, and they're 18th in the NFL this year in 3rd-down completion percentage with a 41.5 mark.

Will the laundry ever go away?

The Steelers were flagged seven times against the Jaguars for 50 yards. These infractions ranged from Lance Moore's delay-of-game foul to going offsides back to back on kickoffs. Not only are the penalties continuing to pile up, but they are negating potentially big plays. Kelvin Beachum's illegal-use-of-hands, 10-yard penalty negated a big 17-yard catch by Antonio Brown.

Spreading the love

Ben Roethlisberger completed passes to 11 different players in the win over the Jaguars. Read that sentence again, it's a pretty impressive feat, even considering today's pass-happy NFL. That statistic is a record for the 2014 season. Of all receivers targeted, Antonio Brown was Roethlisberger's go-to option a whopping 12 times. Brown caught only five passes in the game. Running back Le'Veon Bell was targeted six times, second most on the team.

4th time a charm?

Ben Roethlisberger completed the game against the Jaguars with a 103.1 passer rating. The performance was his third- straight game with a rating over 100. Roethlisberger has only had a passer rating over 100 for four-straight games once in his career. In 2007, he did this in a span of four games where he topped the century mark. Ben typically plays well against Cleveland and in the state of Ohio, so you might put money on him tying his personal best in this case.

Baltimore beatdown just what the doctor ordered

Since the Steelers lost to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football in Week 2, Ben Roethlisberger has been putting up impressive statistics. He's completing more than 70 percent of his passes, has thrown six touchdowns and 0 interceptions. His quarterback rating is 119 and he's attempted an average of 35 passes per game.

3rd Down confusion

The Steelers' defense did a tremendous job against the Jaguars' offense on 3rd downs. Blake Bortles and company only completed 3-of-12 potential third-down conversions. This isn't a new trend as the Steelers rank 8th in the NFL in terms of opponent's third-down completion percentage with a 35-percent ranking.

Slowly climbing back to .500

The Steelers have been a team that has turned the ball over with frequency and hasn't been able to take it away frequently in recent years. They started out of the gates poorly but have rebounded during the past few weeks. Their five takeaways and six turnovers leave them at -1 in the give-away/ take-away category. That -1 ranking has them tied for 20th in the NFL.

Riding Shotgun...again

The Steelers have been loving the shotgun formation in 2014, and the Week 5 win over the Jaguars was no different. Out of 10 drives and 68 plays, the Steelers ran the shotgun formation 62 percent of the time. This doesn't mean they shy away from running the football from the shotgun, but they certainly limit the use of a lead blocker when doing so.

Complete defensive effort

The Steelers' defense hadn't put together four quarters of solid football in 2014, until Sunday. The stat line accompanies that theory, as the defense was able to put their best foot forward against the Jaguars. They got two interceptions, four tackles for losses, five quarterback hits, one sack and six passes defended. All except the sack totals were season-bests for a unit that has been below the line in terms of production.

Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown blazing new trails

These two playmakers for the Steelers are setting new standards for the running back and wide receiver positions. Bell currently has 460 yards rushing and 228 yards receiving. Those numbers are the most ever recorded in Steelers' history through five games. His 2014 projections are scary. He is projected to rush for 1,472 yards and have 730 yards receiving, giving him over 2,000 all-purpose yards from scrimmage.

Antonio Brown had a phenomenal 2013 season and was nearly able to break some very prestigious club records held by Hines Ward. In 2013, Brown had 110 receptions for 1,499 yards and eight touchdowns. Already through five games in 2014, Brown has 34 recptions for 511 yards and five touchdowns. He's the only receiver in the NFL that has over 500 yards receiving and five touchdowns. He's projected to have 109 receptions and 1,635 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Incredible projections for Bell and Brown if they're able to stay healthy and keep up their current pace in terms of production.