The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense shows promise in 2024, as they are currently 6-2 coming off the bye week. Today, I wanted to provide some context for data on talent utilization and Expected Additional Points (EPA) to measure success.
Overall, Pittsburgh’s offense ranks 13th in offensive EPA (0.03). His 0.12 EPA on dropbacks ranks him 13th, compared to his -0.07 rushing EPA (15th).
Next, let’s take a closer look at the HR group. The majority of the league most often plays with 11 (RB 1, TE 1) and 12 (RB 1, TE 2), and this is also true for the Steelers. We will also highlight some of the personnel groups that were commonly seen under OC Arthur Smith.
Let’s start with 11 personnel and look at the usage and success rates in that situation.
The first thing you’ll notice is that Pittsburgh uses 11 players, well below league average. His 47.6 percent usage rate ranks 27th in the NFL, far lower than his 71.8 percent in 2023, when he ranked sixth. Big difference.
The Steelers’ offense is slightly better with 11 personnel EPA of 0.02, tied for 16th compared to 24th last season. While there may be room for improvement in success, it is encouraging to see improvements in quality rather than quantity.
Specifically, Pittsburgh’s 0.14 passing EPA ranks 10th this season. However, they struggled mightily with an 11-man deficit, ranking 30th in rush EPA at -0.18. Considering the frequency of this personnel group, this should be a big target for improving Pittsburgh’s offense.
We also see that Pittsburgh’s next opponent, the Washington Commanders, has an NFL-best 11 personnel EPA of 0.22. They are also below league average (T-22nd), but higher than the Steelers, and are especially good at passing (0.31, 1st) compared to 0.04 rushing EPA (T-5th). This will be a challenge that Pittsburgh’s defense will hope to be ready for in Week 10.
It will also be interesting to see how the rest of the Steelers’ schedule stacks up. Baltimore has the lowest 11 personnel in the NFL at 28.9%, more than 5% less than any other team, but they have had success (0.14 EPA, 3rd T).
Pittsburgh’s remaining opponents are: Cleveland (Usage Rate – 6th, EPA – 28th), Cincinnati (Usage Rate – 16th, EPA – T-3), Philadelphia (Usage Rate – 21st) , EPA – T-8th), Kansas City (Usage – 28th, EPA – T-3rd). This makes them five of the remaining six teams with 11 players in the top 10 in EPA.
Next up are 12 (1 RB, 2 TE).
Here we see that Pittsburgh is one of the few teams with above average 12 personnel. His 25.6% usage rate ranks 11th, and his 0.18 EPA through week 8 is a strong 6th. The Steelers’ high usage rate is not surprising as it is one of Smith’s calling cards, and his success here is encouraging.
In contrast, Pittsburgh staffed 12 people 18% of the time in 2023 (19th) and had an EPA of -0.12 (24th). Thankfully, the overall adjustment is also much better. 12 Personnel Pass EPA is strong again at 0.37 (7th) and Rush EPA is -0.03 (13th). This puts Pittsburgh in an ideal visual corner among several competitive teams, including many on the remaining schedule.
Looking at the schedule, five of the six teams Pittsburgh plays have high usage rates and EPA marks. Washington (12th in usage rate, 14th in EPA), Baltimore (4th in usage rate, 1st in EPA), Cincinnati (7th in usage rate, 8th in EPA), Philadelphia (2nd in usage rate) , EPA – 8th)), Kansas City (Usage – 5th, EPA – T-15th).
It will also be interesting to see where Atlanta lands on the previous two visuals. Since moving on from Smith, they have had the NFL’s highest 11-man team at an astonishing 90.9 (second-highest is 84.8), rarely using 12-man teams, and have a terrible record. This is a stamp of new OC Zach Robinson, who came over from the Los Angeles Rams, who have an 11-man system, the second most after the Falcons.
The stamp Smith has put on his former team and his current Steelers team will be different from 2023 to 2024.
Speaking of his impact, the roster additions and heavy use of TEs are at their best, including 13 (1 RB, 3 TEs).
In fact, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense used 13 personnel, the most of any NFL team in 2024. That percentage is 18 percent, and only the Chiefs (16.1) and Cardinals (15.3) are in the stadium.
Therefore, the matchup between Pittsburgh and Kansas City in Week 17 is likely to feature many promising players. Washington state is the only other city with above-average usage at 5.6, the fourth highest by far. Commander has the second-best 0.29 EPA out of 13 players, which puts him 9th in the KC rankings (-0.07).
Pittsburgh ranks 14th in EPA with 13 players at -0.22, which is close to the league average. Thankfully, their rushing EPA (-0.07) is a better number considering the circumstances, ranking 7th through Week 8 compared to -0.49 passing EPA (16th).
It’s not bad, but it would be nice if it could be improved depending on how often you run it. As a side note, some teams still don’t use this formation, and all but four teams are around 4% or less.
Pittsburgh’s opponents not yet mentioned are: Baltimore (Usage Rate – 21st, EPA – 17th), Cleveland (Usage Rate – 16th, EPA – 12th), Cincinnati (N/A), Philadelphia (Usage – 14th, EPA – 6th). The Eagles are not a huge factor for either of these offenses as they have the best quality and could be an adjustment issue for Pittsburgh in Week 15.
Finally, I wanted to know how often Pittsburgh and the NFL employ multiple backs. Here are the results for the 21 players (2 RBs, 1 TE):
Many NFL teams don’t use the 21 at all, and most, including Pittsburgh, use less than 10%. The company’s utilization rate is 3.3%, tied for 14th place, and so far in 2024, its EPA for 21 employees is 0.15, tied for 4th place, due to quality over quantity. This includes a 0.33 passing EPA, tied for 6th, while a -0.3 rushing EPA ranks 19th. Unfortunately, this is the third-worst number among teams with 21 players.
The lack of a “true FB” on Pittsburgh’s roster is not surprising in my opinion, but I hope they head in the right direction with 21 guys on the fast track. This could have a positive impact on other priorities of the Steeler offense, such as play-action, and will likely continue to help open up the offense.
It’s hardly surprising to see teams of 21 or more people leveraging FB. San Francisco (Kyle Juszczyk) and Miami (Alec Ingold) comfortably lead the usage rate at about 31%, with the third-highest usage rate dropping to 19.4 (Saints).
Baltimore is the only team of Pittsburgh’s upcoming opponents with a higher average usage rate (16.8). Patrick Ricard weighs in at over 300 pounds and has more snaps at the inline TE, contributing to the high quality and quantity of the 12-man staff.
Washington has a 0.74 EPA on 21 personnel, once again above average and currently leading the NFL. They are similar to Pittsburgh in that they don’t use it very often (6.1, 9th) and don’t have a “true FB.” Rookie Ben Synnott often played inline tight end or wide alignment, but he also played in the backfield 21 times.
And the other offenses Pittsburgh faces: Cleveland (N/A), Cincinnati (N/A), Philadelphia (Usage Rate – 18th, EPA – 11th). That’s a bigger factor than most NFL teams’ 13, but not this group as a whole.
As a result, Pittsburgh’s defense has had its hands full against several high-quality teams after the bye, and has various problems with its formation. Washington has the highest overall offensive EPA of 0.22, ranking first with 11 and 21 players, second with 13 players, and above average with 12 players, and is putting effort into offense.
Baltimore is versatile, with 12 and 21 personnel and has had more success than most teams, especially top-ranking in the former. Cleveland is primarily an 11-man team, but they have struggled tremendously compared to the rest of their average (28th in EPA). The final AFC North Bengals are more versatile, with above-average EPA in their primary positions, especially tied for third out of 11.
Philadelphia uses the second-most personnel in the league at 12 and has above-average EPA in several formations except for 21-man. The two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs have mixed it up, having the best record with 11 personnel (T-3rd) and above-average EPA marks with 12 and 13 personnel with multiple tight ends. Obtained.
The Steelers offense performed well overall throughout the study. Below is a ranking table that summarizes all the stats on Pittsburgh’s offense (note: personnel numbers 13 and 21 are not used by every team, so the colors add context to those ranks. ):
It’s very refreshing to see that it’s significantly above average. As of 2024, their best balance of quality and quantity is a 12-person team. TEs Pat Friermuth and Darnell Washington lead Pittsburgh at their position in total snaps, and both close out games for Friermuth, adding even better blocking to his recent receiving ability. And Washington became more involved as a receiver to compliment his strong blocking.
Top 10: Usage rate: 13, Total EPA: 21, Pass EPA: 21, Total EPA: 12, Pass EPA: 12, Run EPA: 13, Pass EPA: 11.
Worst rank: Utilization 11, EPA 11 run, EPA 21 run.
It’s great to see the usage of versatile formations and overall success under Arthur Smith compared to Pittsburgh’s offense, which has been stagnant for several seasons. There are also a few bad points. He won’t use the 11 as often in 2024, but his run ranking of 30th in EPA should be the highest room for improvement in the Steelers’ offense.
