How the Steelers have historically done after a bye week

The Steelers had an unexpected bye week this Sunday due to the COVID outbreak within the Tennessee Titans organization. Their next game will be Sunday the 11th against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Since the NFL postponed the game against the Titans and will make up the game later this year, Pittsburgh’s next opponent will be the Eagles.   It would be safe to assume the Steelers win that game. Why not the combined record of the Steelers’ first four opponents is 1-11-1. Not exactly quality opponents. Yet, coming off a bye week, anything can happen.

Wins and Losses after the Bye

Coming off a bye week, Pittsburgh is currently 19-12 overall. They are 17-9 against AFC teams and 2-3 against NFC opponents. They have played the Eagles only once coming off a bye week on 10/7/2012 in which they won 16-14. They have played 11 home games after the bye and 19 on the road. They are 10-9 in away games and 8-3 in home games.

They have played the Bengals the most coming off the bye week. They have faced the Bengals six times and played Cleveland five times and San Diego three times, then Indianapolis and Denver twice. Their longest win streak coming off the bye was five games week starting on 10/19/2008 against the Bengals and continued through 10/13/2013 against the Jets.

In between, they knocked off the Broncos, Browns, Chiefs, and Eagles. Their longest losing streak coming off a bye week was three games Starting 11/30/2014 against the Saints, then Seahawks, ending 11/06/2016 against the Ravens. The Steelers are now in their second-longest winning streak coming off a bye week starting in 2017. If they beat the Eagles next Sunday, they will have their second-longest win streak at four games coming off the bye week.

Points after a Bye week

The most points coming off the bye week the Steelers have ever put up was 38 against the Bengals on 10/19/2008 when they scored 38, and they scored their most touchdowns ever coming off the bye week with five. They won that game 38-10. The least points the Steelers have scored after the bye week was three against the Bengals as well going back to 11/18/90. They have averaged 21.54 points a game after the bye week. They have scored four touchdowns five times.

The Steelers have also scored four two-point conversions and one safety in games coming off the bye week. The least points the Steelers have allowed was three; they did this three times as well. However, they have not allowed less than three points since 2001.

Rushing and Passing yards after the Bye Week

The Steelers put up their most passing yards coming off the bye week on 11/29/2015 in a loss against Seattle with 480 yards. In this game, the Steelers also gave up the most points ever following a bye week, allowing 39. Their least amount of passing yards ever coming off the bye week was a mere 100 yards on 9/30/2001 at Buffalo with a win, though.  Pittsburgh’s most rushing yards was a scorching 257 on 10/11/98 against the Bengals, yet lost the game 20-25.

Their least amount of rushing yards least was a paltry 38 against the Ravens in 2016. The Steelers’ best performance against the run?  10/31/2003 when they held the Patriots to five yards coming off the bye week in a 34-20 victory.  Against the passing, they held San Francisco to 90 yards passing on 11/7/1999. Pittsburgh’s worst performance against the run was in the same game allowing 223 yards rushing. However, they won the game 27-6.  Their worst performance against the pass came in their loss to the Rams on 10/26/2003 when they allowed the Rams 359 yards passing.

Game Prediction against the Eagles

So what should fans expect in the Steelers’ next game against the Eagles? Considering this will be the second time Pittsburgh has faced Philadelphia coming off the bye week, the Steelers are 1-0 against the Eagles. The last meaning was a close victory for the Steelers. The Steelers passed for 220 yards and ran for 123 yards while the Steelers gave up 168 yards passing and 78 rushing yards.

Considering the Eagles 2020 record, look for the Steelers to win this game as they play at home. They should win  20-14 and put up approximately 325 yards passing while running for 90 yards. Pittsburgh will take advantage of a weak Eagles secondary while they struggle offensively against the Steelers defense.