Last Updated on February 5, 2011 9:00 pm by drew
Steelers Stats Breakdown
ARLINGTON, TX (TheSpread) – The Pittsburgh Steelers are among the best in the league in a number of statistical categories in the NFL. Here is a breakdown of their numbers from this past season.
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Oddsmakers from online sportsbook SBGGLOBAL.com currently have the Steelers as a 3-point underdog for Sunday’s championship game against the Green Bay Packers while the over/under has been set at 44.5 points.
For Pittsburgh, you don’t have to look any further than the defense when trying to figure out how this team is 14-4 and in the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh has been stingy on defense in every way as they lead the league in scoring defense (14.5 points per game), total defense (276.8 yards), rushing yards allowed (62.8), and sacks (48). They also had 21 interceptions with 20 forced fumbles and 91 pass deflections. The only area of concern could be passing defense, where the Steelers ranked 12th in the league, allowing 212.1 yards per game.
The defense had a number of leaders as Troy Polamalu won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award thanks to his 63 tackles and 7 interceptions. Linebacker James Harrison led the team with 10.5 sacks while LaMarr Woodley had 10 sacks. Lawrence Timmons finished the season as the leader in tackles with 135. He also had eight tackles for loss and two interceptions.
When it comes to offense, the Steelers aren’t overwhelming, but they are physical and consistent. Pittsburgh averaged 23.4 points per game and 345.3 yards per game. Both ranked in the upper half of the NFL. Where Pittsburgh was strong was rushing offense (120.3 yards per game), which helped them rank among the best in Time of Possession at 32:24 per game. In the passing game, the Steelers averaged 225.1 yards per game and they converted 43 percent of their third downs and 40 percent of their fourth downs.
In terms of player production on offense, Rashard Mendenhall has carried the offense with 1,273 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. The power back averages just under 4 yards per carry and 80 yards per game. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 3,200 yards and 17 touchdowns with just five interceptions despite missing four games. He was sacked 32 times on the year though. Receiving-wise, speedster Mike Wallace led the way with 60 receptions for 1,257 yards and 10 touchdowns.
For special teams, the Steelers averaged 23.5 yards per kick return and 6.1 per punt return. Their top return man is rookie Emmanuel Sanders, who posted a 25.1 kick return average and 15 yard punt return average. When it comes to kicking Shaun Suisham has hit 14-of-15 field goal attempts, with his lone miss coming beyond 40 yards. He is perfect on extra points and has a long of 48 yards. Punter Daniel Sepulveda averages 45.5 yards per punt and has landed 16 inside the 20 this season and gives up an average of 8.6 yards per return.
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