As Week 10 comes to a close, I wanted to provide my favorite stats from the Steelers Depot. That’s adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A). ANY/A is Passing Yards – Sack Yards + (20 * Passing TDs) – (45 * Interceptions)) / (Number of Pass Attempts + Number of Sacks).
First, here’s a visual of the passing offense (OANY/A) and defense (DANY/A).
The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to be above average on both offense and defense, which thankfully contributes to their 7-2 record. 6.7 OANY/A is tied for 12th and 5.1 DANY/A is tied for 8th. It’s great to be one of the best teams in the NFL and one of the nine above average teams.
By comparison, the last time we looked at ANY/A stats was Week 7, which was OANY/A (6.6, 10th place) and DANY/A (5.2, T-9th place). In other words, both numbers have improved slightly, but the attack power rank has decreased and the defense power has increased by one rank.
Next up for Pittsburgh is Baltimore (7-3), which “breaks” the charts offensively. Their impressive 9.8 OANY/A puts them more than two spots behind the 49ers and Commanders tied for second at 7.7.
The Steelers just won the latter, and the Ravens offense, which features Lamar Jackson, will use a similar style. The hope is that familiarity in this department will limit the high-powered passing attacks that will proliferate more than ever in 2024.
On the contrary, they are focused on defense, ranking 29th in DANY/A at a low 7.3, with only the Cowboys (7.4), Panthers (7.5), and Jaguars (7.6) slightly below them. is. This group of three has a combined record of 8-21, which explains how crazy the Ravens’ offense and defense are.
It would also be interesting to take a look at the rest of Pittsburgh’s schedule, and here are the current standings for these teams: Cleveland (OANY/A-Last, DANY/A-28th), Cincinnati (OANY/A -5th place, DANY/AT- 22nd), Philadelphia (OANY/A-11th, DANY/AT-2nd), Kansas City (OANY/A-17th, DANY/A-16th).
The Chiefs are still undefeated with nine wins and have won two Super Bowls, but unlike most teams that have more ways to win, they’re defying that record. That tough challenge comes in week 17. The Eagles are the most balanced at 7-2 and are a challenging proposition in Week 15.
The divisional game is still stagnant, and while Cincinnati boasts a top-five offense, their defense is not so good. And the Browns are the Browns.
So while the Steelers’ upcoming challenge poses such an offensive threat that Pittsburgh’s top-10 defense is poised to thwart, the offense overall seems to have an easier path on paper. .
Let’s take a look at the weekly results for the offense by quarterback.
QB Russell Wilson has shown some improvement starting the last three games, but his ANY/A numbers have been trending downward and were below the line in his last game. Last week that number was 6.03, below the ideal 6.5 mark (blue line). This was accomplished despite throwing three passing TDs, more than any Steelers quarterback since 2021.
Of course that’s encouraging, and it’s clear that winning on the scoreboard is the ultimate goal. However, Wilson had a sluggish 14-28 record with a completion percentage of 50 percent, threw his first interception, had the fewest passing yards in his three starts at 197, and had three sacks and a 23-yard completion rate. Recorded losses (highest ever).
There is no doubt that Pittsburgh will need to overcome a tough schedule in order to continue extending its four-game winning streak.
Here are Pittsburgh’s weekly numbers:
Field week 1: 5.32
Field week 2: 5.91.
Field week 3: 6.09.
Field Week 4: 7.95.
Field Week 5: 5.17.
Fields Week 6: 4.07.
Wilson Week 7: 10.0.
Wilson Week 8: 8.72
good bye
Wilson Week 10: 6.03.
This gives context that my last statement about Wilson being great in the first two games is reasonable. His 10.0 ANY/A in his debut was the fourth-best mark of the week and is clearly where the trend is heading back. Wilson went 16-of-29 (55.2 percent) with 264 passing yards, two TDs, no INTs and only one sack (four for loss) in the 37-15 win over the Jets.
He was great in Week 8 as well, going 20-of-28 for completion percentage (71.4) and passing yards (278), while also recording sacks (4). The latter lost 19 total yards, more yards than in the previous game despite having one less sack. The lack of interceptions was also a positive for Wilson, who hopes to return and shows that the first two games of 2024 weren’t as shaky as the last. Let’s hope for that much for the rest of the grueling schedule.
Below is a visual of the total offense (OANY/A) and defense (DANY/A) for seven games.
With the exception of a 20-10 win over the Chargers in Week 3, we can see that Pittsburgh’s wins and losses correlate with the DANY/A statistic. Their seven wins include their first two high points and similar points in their current four-game win streak.
The team lost just two consecutive games in Weeks 4 and 5 against Indianapolis (27-24) and Dallas (20-17), but if the defense was above the ideal blue line, it would be reversed. It was a close game that could have been (DANY/A < 6.0).
If they can do that often in the remaining games, it bodes well for continuing to rack up wins against tough offensive lines, and if they do, that’s the story. Fingers crossed.
Steelers weekly DANY/A results and stat breakdown (TDS is subjective):
Week 1 vs. ATL: 2.39. QB Kirk Cousins – 16/26 (61.5), 155 passing yards, 1 TD (CB Beanie Bishop Jr.), 2 INTS (CB Donte Jackson, S DeShon Elliott), 2 sacks (ED TJ Watt, DL Cam Hayward, DL Montravius Adams), 18 sack yards.
Week 2 vs. DEN: 3.81. QB Bo Nix – 20/35 (57.1), 246 yards, 0 TD, 2 INTS (CB Corey Trice Jr., S Damonte Kazee), 2 sacks (Watt, ED Alex Highsmith), 15 sack yards.
Week 3 vs. LAC: 6.45. QB Justin Herbert (injured) – 12/18, 125 yards, 1 TD (S Minkah Fitzpatrick), 0 INTS, 2 sacks, 16 sack yards.
Week 4 vs. IND: 6.93. QB Joe Flacco – 16/26 (61.5), 168 yards, 2 TDS (Bishop, CB Joey Porter Jr.), 0 INTS, 2 sacks (Hayward, DL Larry Ogunjobi), 14 sack yards.
Week 5 vs. DAL: 6.5. QB Dak Prescott – 29/42 (69.0), 352 yards, 2 TDS (both S DeShon Elliott), 2 INTS (Porter, Jackson), 2 sacks (Watt, ED Nick Herbig), 16 sack yards.
Week 6 vs. LV: 4.71. QB Aidan O’Connell – 27/40 (67.5), 227 yards, 1 TD (Bishop), 1 INT (Jackson), 1 sack (Hayward), 9 sack yards.
Week 7 vs. NYJ: 4.98. QB Aaron Rodgers – 24/39 (61.5), 276 yards, 1 TD (Fitzpatrick), 2 INTS (both Bishop), 1 sack (Ogunjobi), 7 sack yards.
Week 8 vs NYG: 4.57. QB Daniel Jones – 24/38 (63.2), 264 yards, 0 TDS, 1 INT (Bishop), 4 sacks (Watt, Highsmith), 27 sack yards.
Week 10 vs. WAS: 4.92. QB Jayden Daniels – 17/34 (50.0), 202 yards, 0 TDS, 0 INTS, 3 sacks (Hayward 2, Smith), 20 sack yards.
Starting with recent developments, you can see that the defense had a strong day overall in the last game against Daniels. They gave up some yardage but no TDs, the lowest completion percentage allowed by any QB this season, which is impressive given how strong their passing game is (T-2 in OANY/A before the matchup). ). His second-most sacks on the season also contributed to his discomfort, but he still took care of the football without having an INT.
The latter has not occurred since week 4, which occurred in consecutive weeks. The other thing that hasn’t happened yet is a pick-six, and with this take-home culture that Pittsburgh has created, I really want that to happen soon.
Pittsburgh has two record sacks in the past two games, with three or more in each. I hope this trend continues, and it’s a big factor in their hopes of limiting all these powerful attacks for the rest of the way.
I hope that Wilson continues to strengthen OANY/A and the passing offense, and that the team’s defense as a whole continues to perform well, including the team’s current four-game winning streak.
Finally, below is a table of 2024 ANY/A results, sorted by difference, with the goal of showing the most balanced teams.
The Pittsburgh Steelers currently rank 8th in the NFL with an ANY/A differential of 1.6. What a breath of fresh air compared to last season, when the team consistently sank to the bottom due to poor play from the offensive line. I hope they continue to do well in these conditions. That has contributed to their 7-2 record so far, which bodes well for their ultimate goal of the playoffs and hopefully beyond.
They have a tough schedule coming up, but they did well in the final game against Washington, a performance that ideally would be a springboard for the rest of the season.
