Steelers have had good luck with NFL line judge Sarah Thomas

Normally fans complain about their bad calls from officials. However, the Steelers have found success with one NFL referee.

Sarah Thomas made history in 2015 when the NFL hired her for their officiating crews. She is now in her sixth season as a line judge in the NFL. Over that time, she has officiated in seven Steelers games. Surprisingly in those games, Pittsburgh is 6-1.

Sure it may not be just the one referee; it could be the officiating crew as a whole, but still, a referee or an officiating crew rarely benefits a team. However, in all seven games, the Steelers opponents were flagged 54 times for 485 yards –  allowing the Black and Gold to capitalize by scoring 45 points, while Pittsburgh only got penalized 49 times for 369 yards. The penalties on Pittsburgh’s opponents surely helped, to say the least. Let’s examine those seven games.

Pittsburgh 24 San Diego 20: Monday Night October 12, 2015

A game in which Michael Vick played for the injured Ben Roethlisberger. It was a nail biter for sure, with both teams combining for 27 points in the fourth quarter. Throughout the game, referees flagged the Steelers eight times for 86 yards while penalizing San Diego seven times for 54 yards. Usually, 15 penalties draw ire from the fans depending on which side they’re on.

In this case, one penalty made the difference in the fourth quarter against the Chargers. The first decisive penalty came while San Diego maintained its lead with 12 seconds remaining. Michael Vick hit Heath Miller for 16 yards to the one; amid the play, Jahleel Addae got flagged for unnecessary roughness. The penalty led to a Charger’s time out, leaving five seconds on the clock. On the next play, Le’Veon Bell scored on a one-yard rush and Pittsburgh sealed a victory.