Sneaky Good at Sacks
The Steelers are sneaky good at sacks. They don’t have a reputation as a sack heavy team like they did in the 2000s but they’re racking them up consistently this season. They currently have 26 sacks for the season, tied for 4th in the NFL. And here’s an interesting stat: not a single game this season has their opponent sacked Ben more than the defense has sacked the opposing quarterback. Even the rough early going, they still outperformed opponents in sacks.
The reason it flies under the radar is partially due to a middling defense (which is much improved and many have not realized it yet), but also how spread out the sacks are. T.J. Watt has 7, a good showing, then 3.5 from Dupree, 3 from Hargrave and Tuitt, 2.5 from Heyward and Bostic, 1.5 from Williams, and 1 each from Fort, Chickillo, and McCullers. Point is, it’s a flat pyramid but it’s a big one.