The Pittsburgh Steelers were back at home for Week 13, this time facing an NFC opponent. The Steelers started strong on both sides of the ball, but failed to finish drives before a plethora of injuries tipped things not in their favor.

So without further ado, here are some of the numbers involved in the Steelers Week 13 loss to the Cardinals.

Note: These breakdowns are based on the statistics and in-stadium observations as I was in attendance at the game and was unable to watch the TV broadcast at the time of writing.

-1

The Pittsburgh Steelers came up short on the scoreboard on Sunday and in the turnover margin. Having one turn over in a key moment in the third quarter lead directly to a Cardinals touchdown and played a huge part in the game. The errant snap, one of many from Mason Cole on Sunday, could not be brought in by Mitch Trubisky and the turnover gave the Cardinals the ball at the Steelers 21-yard line.

23

Through the first 25 minutes of action, the Steelers defense held the Arizona Cardinals to 23 total yards on four drives. With the defense getting these kinds of stops, the Steelers made the decision to go for it on fourth and one at the Arizona 1-yard line play after Kenny Pickett was lost for the game.

109

Expecting the Steelers to get the stop and still get good field position if they failed to convert the touchdown, the Cardinals offense woke up after the goal-line stand to march 99 yards for a touchdown just before the end of the first half. The Cardinals actually gained 109 yards on the drive as they had a 10 yard penalty assessed.

2

Despite a huge lightning streak with one minute left in the first half, the teams stayed on the field until halftime and then the stadium was cleared. It was the first of the two delays to the game due to lightning. While I wish I could give the number of exactly how many minutes the game was delayed each time, I’ll just say it felt like an eternity being crammed in the concourse while soaking wet.

59% vs. 36%

Despite the Cardinals starting 0 for 5 on third down, they converted 10 of their next 12 opportunities, with one being to take a knee to end the game, and finished with a 59% third down conversion. The Steelers, on the other hand, only converted 4 times on third down out of 11 tries for 36% rate. The Steelers were only 1 of 6 on third downs in the first half which kept them from finishing drives and had them chasing points the entire second half.

130

The Steelers still had a decent day rushing the football as they ran for 130 yards on 31 attempts for a 4.2 YPC. Najee Harris had the most yards with 63 on 16 carries while Jaylen Warren was more efficient with 59 yards on 9 carries. But where the running game broke down for the Steelers was in the second half, partly due to game situation, as the Steelers had 91 rushing yards on 20 carries in the first half but only 39 yards on 11 carries in the second half.

3

Another key area where the Steelers directly lost the game was when it came to red zone trips. Both the Steelers and Cardinals had three red zone trips in the game. The difference was the Cardinals turned all three of their red zone opportunities into touchdowns while the Steelers were only one for three as they settled for a field goal on the opening drive of the game and failed to convert on fourth and one towards the end of the second quarter.

8 for 89

There was really only two players who hurt the Steelers and the Cardinals offense on Sunday. When it came to the passing game, the player responsible for most of the Cardinals success was tight and Trey McBride. On the day, McBride had 89 receiving yards on eight receptions for nine targets with a touchdown. Only one other player had more than one reception in Geoff Swaim having two for 10 yards and the most yardage outside of McBride was Elijah Higgins with one catch for 21 yards.

4:25

Even though they were down two scores, the Steelers couldn’t get the ball back at the end of the game after their lone touchdown of the contest. With 4:25 left in the game, the Steelers couldn’t get the necessary stop to even get one possession, let alone two, before time ran out. The Cardinals held the ball to finish off the game where they had nine plays for 47 yards, all of the rushing variety. The Cardinals had 50 rushing yards from James Conner on 6 carries before Kyler Murray took three knees to end the day.

0

In a game that really would have set the tone for the rest of the Steelers season, they came out and laid an egg and could not get a much needed victory. While other teams in the playoff hunt kept the Steelers in the same position they were coming into Week 13, it allowed other teams to tighten up the race and the Steelers margin for error down the stretch got much smaller by not being able to add a tally to the win column.

So there are some numbers to help put the Steelers Week 13 loss in perspective. With another Thursday night game on the horizon, there will not be much time to dwell on this one as the new week of prep starts right away.

So what numbers from Sunday’s game stand out to you? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.