The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense wasn’t a fireworks show against the New Orleans Saints, it was a cement truck. Pittsburgh out rushed New Orleans 148-18 and averaged just under five yards per carry. This efficiency in the run game allowed the Steelers to establish long drives of eight, 13, 11, 14, and 11 plays.
The Steelers had just one three-and-out on the day, which was a welcome change from the five they had against the Buccaneers. A big part of establishing those long drives was their efficiency
on third down. Pittsburgh entered the week as the NFL’s worst team on third down in terms of EPA per play, and they were 28th in conversion percentage. On Sunday, Pittsburgh converted a season-high 10 third downs on 16 attempts. Their biggest play of the game came on 3rd-and-14 when Aaron Rodgers extended the play and found DK Metcalf for a 51-yard completion, which set up the Darnell Washington touchdown.
The run game working so well helped the Steelers stay within a respectable distance on those third downs, as their average play on third down was under six yards, per Sumer Sports. With the majority of those plays being 3rd-and-short or 3rd-and-medium, this allowed Pittsburgh to run on a good chunk of their third down plays.
Ahead of Week 7, the Steelers didn’t run the ball on third down more than three times – they did so seven times on Sunday and converted six of them into first downs, which doubled their previous season-high of three rushes for first downs on third down.
There were points left on the board, and Aaron Rodgers said as much after the game. They were unable to finish two drives in which they made it to the red zone and had to settle for field goals, and another drive reached the Saints’ 29 yard-line that also ended with a field goal. However, it’s much better to see that while still being 5-2 and in first place in the division than it would be had they found a way to lose to New Orleans.
The scoreboard may not have been pretty, but the way they got there was beautiful – running the ball well, succeeding on third down, and sustaining long drives. Those are the characteristics of an efficient offense, and you can beat just about anybody if you can do that on a consistent basis.
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