Strange stats: Steelers vs. Chargers

It’s another win on Monday. Let’s go crazy.

– We have to start with that elite Pittsburgh Steelers defense. They are the first team since the 2009 Denver Broncos to start a season holding their opponents to no more than 10 points, something we’ve seen before before the game. Atlanta had 10 points on Sunday, Denver had 6 and Los Angeles had 10.

Since the turn of the century, the only other teams to accomplish this feat are the Indianapolis Colts (2005), the Seattle Seahawks (2004) and the Green Bay Packers (2001).

Since World War II, the Steelers had only accomplished this once before 2024, in 1973.

-The Steelers allowed minus-five net yards in the second half, which means you and I were more offensive than the Chargers in the third and fourth quarters.

– In three games, Pittsburgh has allowed a total of six Points in the second half. They knocked out Atlanta, allowed two field goals to Denver and didn’t allow a single goal to Los Angeles. Unbelievable.

– The Steelers recorded their first five-sack game since Week 2 of last season, when they sacked Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson six times.

– Although it’s fairly intuitive, the Steelers are 42-5-1 in the Mike Tomlin era when their defense records at least five sacks. They’ve won their last 14 such games, with their last loss coming in overtime to the Baltimore Ravens in 2019.

– Chargers RB JK Dobbins came into the game averaging 9.9 yards per carry over the first two weeks. He managed just 2.9 YPC in this game. He had 9 rushing yards after halftime.

Dobbins had rushed for 93, 113 and 120 yards in his three previous games against the Steelers, all for the Ravens. This time, he was unable to achieve that feat.

– Nick Herbig had the first multi-sack game of his NFL career. It was his first such game since Nov. 12, 2022, when he recorded three sacks as a Wisconsin Badger against Iowa.

– Cam Heyward officially took second place in Steelers history with his sack, ahead of James Harrison. Only TJ Watt is just under 100 with half a sack.

– FS Minkah Fitzpatrick finished the game with two tackles, his fewest in a game he has started and finished since Week 16 of the 2022 season, the Christmas Eve game in which Franco Harris passed away hours earlier and his jersey was retired at halftime.

This isn’t a criticism of Fitzpatrick. Games in which linebackers lead the way in tackles are a good thing. Patrick Queen led the group with eight tackles.

– The Steelers have played 20 more plays than the Chargers in this game, 65 to 45. In three games this season, the Steelers have more snaps than their opponents, 189 to 151. They have more snaps than their opponents in all three games.

In the first three games last season? Opponents outscored Pittsburgh 214-174 snaps. That’s a 78-snap advantage for the Steelers, essentially more than an entire game.

– Pittsburgh also won the battle for time of possession in all three games of 2024, holding it for at least 32 minutes in each game.

While that’s not incredibly rare – they had a streak like that at the end of last season – the fourth quarter numbers are pretty stark. In the final quarter, Pittsburgh had more possession than its opponent, 26:32 to 18:28. An eight-minute lead. That’s huge.

– On offense, wide receiver Calvin Austin III led the charge with 95 yards receiving passes, the highest of his NFL career. It’s also the most he’s done in a game in nearly three years. The last time he did that was in November 2021, his penultimate college game. That day, he managed 105 yards in a loss to Houston.

– Four different Steelers caught at least four passes on Sunday: George Pickens, Calvin Austin, Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth. That happened only twice last year, in Weeks 1 and 8. Spread the ball around and get everyone involved.

– One area where the Steelers still need to make progress? The red zone. They’ve only made 2 of 8 shots there. However, they did kneel at the Chargers’ 1-yard line yesterday to eke out the final seconds. The data is a bit skewed, but even with the right context, there’s still work to be done.

– By defeating Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers, they handed him his first loss as a coach since Dec. 31, 2022, when TCU defeated his Michigan Wolverines in the playoffs. The Wolverines won the national championship last season.

It is Harbaugh’s first NFL loss since December 2014, his second-to-last game with the San Francisco 49ers. And that loss? It happened against the then San Diego Chargers, the team he coaches today. Only in a new place.

– Always try to give you a stat on special teams. K Chris Boswell’s 62-yard field goal attempt was the longest of his NFL career, surpassing the 61-yard attempt he missed last season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. But it’s not the longest attempt in team history.

This honor goes to Jeff Reed, who is responsible for 65 metres attempt in 2007. Given the advantage of playing in Denver’s thin air, Reed tried his best at the end of the half. His kick was accurate but fell short and was caught by DB Dre Bly in the back of the end zone. Here’s a look at that kick.

– Finally, a nice statistic. Since 1937, there have only been two teams that won their first three games of a season without scoring more than three touchdowns. The Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024 and the Buffalo Bills in 1988. The Steelers have three: TE Darnell Washington and WR Calvin Austin III have receiving scores, while QB Justin Fields has the team’s only rushing score.

The Bills had just two in 1988. A touchdown run by RB Thurman Thomas and a touchdown catch by RB Robb Riddick. But those are the only two in the last 86 years. That year, Buffalo’s offense came alive with three touchdowns in Week 4 against… the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning 36-28.

It gets even better. Which was the last NFL team before 1937 to do something like that? The 1936 Pittsburgh Steelers…Pirates, the original name of the Steelers franchise from 1933 to 1940. Guard George Kakasic scored a touchdown on a fumble, Art Strutt ran for a 3-yard touchdown, and Bill Sortet caught an 11-yard pass for six runs. The Pirates scored 10 points in each of their first three games, winning all of them.

So the 2024 and 1936 versions of the Steelers are essentially the same.

Which other teams in NFL history have taken on Pittsburgh and Buffalo? Some of the teams we mentioned last week. The 1934 Detroit Lions, the 1923 Duluth Kelleys, the And 1923 Chicago Cardinals and 1922 Chicago Bears.