The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their final five games of the season as they fell 28-14 to the Ravens in the playoffs on Saturday night. The Steelers, both players and coaches, didn’t show up in a meaningful way in the first half and made the game look somewhat closer than it actually was.

So without further ado, here are some of the numbers involved in the Steelers Wild Card loss to the Ravens.

0

One thing which did not affect this game at all was turnovers. While the Steelers did not turn the ball over themselves, they also had no defensive takeaways. It is the first time since Week 15 of the 2022 season against the Carolina Panthers where the Steelers played a game in which there were no turnovers by either team.

299

It was a historically bad night for the Steelers when it came to stopping the run. The Baltimore Ravens, after hitting the 300-yard rushing mark, lost a yard by taking a knee on the final play in order to finish with 299 rushing yards on 50 attempts. Derrick Henry led the way with 186 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns for a 7.2 average. Lamar Jackson also added 81 rushing yards on 15 carries. It is the most rushing yards the Steelers have surrendered since Week 2 of the 1975 season when the Steelers surrendered 310 yards on 46 rushing attempts to the Buffalo Bills. It is also only the second time the Steelers has surrendered more than 200 rushing yards in a playoff game as they gave up 232 yards on 55 attempts to the Oakland Raiders in 1973.

13

Part of the reason the Ravens were able to stack up so many rushing yards is they had one entire possession which traveled 85 yards on 13 plays where every play was a rushing attempt. Granted, Lamar Jackson did drop back the pass multiple times but ultimately ended up scrambling for yardage. The Ravens held the ball for 7:56 and scored a touchdown with just over four minutes remaining in the first half.

67%

A big reason the Ravens had so much offensive success against the Steelers was their 67% conversion rate on third down where they were 10 or 15 for the game. On the flip-side, the Steelers were only 45% efficient on third down as they were 5 for 11. What set the tone was the first half when the Ravens were 7 of 8 on third down for an 88% conversion rate while the Steelers were only 1 of 5 for a 20% conversion rate. In the second half, the Steelers were actually more effective on third down as they were 4 of 6 for a 67% conversion rate while the Ravens were only 3 of 7 for a 43% conversion rate.

29

As much as the Ravens were able to rush the football, the Steelers were not able to match them in the slightest. Rushing for only 29 yards on 11 carries for a 2.6 average, the Steelers came out throwing the ball yet it did not open up opportunities to be more successful running. The Steelers had only 19 yards on seven carries in the first half and had to all-but abandon in the run game in the second half where they had 4 carries for 10 yards.

44

The Pittsburgh Steelers allowed the game to get out of hand in the first half from a lack of offensive production. The Steelers put up no points in the first half and never crossed the midfield. The farthest the Steelers made it on any drive in the first 30 minutes was their own 44-yard line. Although on the next play the Steelers did complete a long pass to George Pickens, he was called for a fairly blatant push off which cost the Steelers a 10-yard penalty.

1:08

Another place where the Steelers allowed the game to get out of hand in the first half was the decision to take a time out with 1:08 left in the first half when the Ravens were facing a third and two from their own 18-yard line. After running two plays to start the drive, one which the Ravens seemed content to let the clock run out and go to halftime with a 14–0 lead, the Steelers chose to stop the clock in hopes of getting the ball back one more time before the half. Instead, the Steelers ultimately helped their opponent have enough time to score 7 more points before the half as the Ravens converted on third and short to extend the drive which ultimately went 90 yards on 9 plays and led to a touchdown.

29

The Steelers defense surrendered 29 first downs in the game, with 19 coming in the first half. The Steelers only had 11 total first downs in the entire game as they only had two first downs by halftime. RElaizig the Ravens had as many first downs as the Steelers had rushing yards really puts this game into perspective.

0

Before getting to the final zero, there are a lot of other zeros for the Steelers in this game. First of all, the Steelers had zero red zone trips in the entire contest as they never were able to effectively move the ball inside their opponents 20-yard line. Instead, the Steelers relied on two scores of 30 yards or more. Additionally, the Steelers failed to stop the Ravens on any of their four red zone possessions, although they officially went three for four. The Steelers gave up three touchdowns and drive ending in victory formation whenever their opponent reached the red zone. For this reason, both offensively and defensively, this was a strange game for the Steelers as there were zero field goals attempted by either team.

0

It’s sad that this number has held here so long to finish the 2024 season. It’s been five games of the Steelers failing to put another tally in the win column and having another season finishing in disappointment. It has also been eight seasons since the Steelers have had anything but a zero in the win column in the postseason. Unfortunately, this is a number that Steelers fans are going to have to live with for many months as the long offseason awaits until the Steelers once again get on the field in September of 2025.

So there are some numbers to help put the Steelers Wild Card loss in perspective. The Steelers squandered an opportunity to put themselves in a better position heading into the playoffs and instead were out-classed by a divisional opponent.

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