The Pittsburgh Steelers got back on track Sunday afternoon when they clinched the AFC North Championship by defeating the Indianapolis Colts. Like the offense that Steelers fans have seen the previous four games, the Steelers came out of the locker room like the team that went from win to win to start the season.
After starting a new winning streak at the end of the season, those are some numbers that led to the Steelers winning 28-24 over the Colts.
5
The Steelers were able to fire fullback Philip Rivers 5 times on Sunday. The Colts entered the game with the second fewest bags handed over (16) just behind the Steelers (12). Yes, the Colts missed their two attacks due to injury and COVID-19, but the Steelers took advantage of the situation and had the most pockets in a game since Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles. With the five bags on Sunday, it’s the fourth consecutive season that the Steelers have reached the 50 bag plateau and that the team is four bags away from the franchise record of 56 in 2017. TJ Watt added 2.0 bags to his league on Sunday. leading total to 15.0 in 2020.
+2
The Steelers did their part in the turnover division on both sides of the ball on Sunday. Not only did the Steelers attack turn the ball around, but the defense had two takeaways. The first takeaway set up the offense to need just 3 yards for an attack in the first half, where the second takeaway stopped the Colts’ drive to take the lead in the fourth quarter. The Steelers had almost a third takeoff game in the fourth quarter to clinch the win, but were destroyed by a penalty kick.
17
With less than 20 minutes left in the game, the Pittsburgh Steelers left the Colts with 17 points. This return was the biggest that the Steelers overcame under head coach Mike Tomlin.
10:45
It took the Steelers less than 11 minutes to clear a 17-point deficit and take a four-point lead by setting up 21 points in the second half with three hits. The attack took place on three consecutive slides and took place in 10:45 playing time.
28
Not only did the Steelers attack have to do their part in Sunday’s return, but the defense increased after the Steelers failed to pass on their first in the second half and turned the ball over on the Colts ’2-yard line. On the next three slides, the Steelers defense conceded just 28 yards and just one first to leave the ball three points behind in the fourth quarter.
242
It was a big difference between the first and second halves for the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger passed exactly 100 yards in the first half, with more than 40 of those yards coming in the last 10 seconds, and in the second half exploded 242 yards against the Colts. After completing 11 of 21 passes in the first half, Roethlisberger was 23 of 29 with three passes over the last 30 minutes.
28
In a recurring number, the Steelers scored 28 points against the Colts on Sunday. It broke a series of four consecutive games in which the Steelers failed to score 20 points.
8
One thing that was very curious about the Indianapolis Colts was their decision to chase the ball just 8 times in the second half. When the two halves are compared, the Colts ran 34 plays in the first half in which they rushed the ball 20 times for 77 yards. In the second half, the Colts also ran 34 plays, but rushed the ball just 8 times for 50 yards. The Colts were thus even more efficient in chasing the ball in the second half, although they preferred to run the ball less than half the amount of times.
9
After neither of the two players were targeted in the first half, wide receivers Chase Claypool and James Washington saw 9 passes thrown in the second half against the Colts. Claypool finished the game with 4 catches on 6 targets for 54 yards, while Washington caught 2 passes on 3 targets for 20 yards.
9
The key number 9 this season is the 9th time the Steelers have won the AFC North since the divisions were recreated for the 2002 season. The Steelers were in the lead with their 9 AFC North championships, with the Baltimore Ravens winning 6 times and the Cincinnati Bengals 4 times.
So there are some numbers to evaluate the Steelers’ victory over the Colts Sunday. Just as shaky as the start of the Steelers, turning matters around after halftime was exactly what the team and its fan base needed in the post-season 2020.
There were so many more numbers than above. Were there any numbers that stand out to you? Leave your answers in the comments below.