Steelers have had good luck with NFL line judge Sarah Thomas

Pittsburgh 23 Arizona 17: December 8, 2019

Another game Roethlisberger missed. Devlin Hodges led the Steelers in this game. Pittsburgh only had four flags for 20 yards, While Arizona got hit seven times for 75 yards. They probably allowed the Steelers to win. The crucial penalty came in the first quarter as Hodges threw an incomplete pass bringing up a 4th and 13 at their 48-yard line.

Thanks to Jordan Hicks getting flagged for unnecessary roughness giving the Steelers 15 yards, Pittsburgh scored seven plays later, punching through a field goal. The second penalty came in the third quarter. With 3:54 in the fourth and one on the Cardinals 31, Byron Murphy drew a 15-yard pass interference. With a first and ten at the Cardinals 13 and thanks to a Terell Suggs face mask two plays later, the Steelers scored a touchdown and eventually won the game.

Pittsburgh 27 Tennessee 24: October 25, 2020

In the only game this year, the Steelers had this officiating crew; penalties from the referees may have saved the Steelers unbeaten streak. While Pittsburgh had eight for 69 yards and the Titans only had seven but for 53 yards. However, two penalties on the Titans may have saved the Steelers from blowing their lead on the Titans.

In the third quarter, with 13:19 left, Titan Kenny Vaccaro got flagged for unnecessary roughness and 15 yards, moving the ball to the Titans 42-yard line. Three plays later, Malcolm Butler got nailed for a 21-yard pass interference call on Chase Claypool, and the ball advanced to the Titans 15-yard line.  While the Steelers drive stalled after that, they kicked a field goal giving them 27 points. The Steelers never scored again in the second half. Without those points, the game would have gone into overtime, or they would have lost if Gostkowski had not missed a 45-yard field goal attempt.

Did the Steelers really benefit from the officiating crew with Sarah Thomas regarding how they called penalties? The easy answer is no, not really. Nonetheless, penalties called by this officiating crew have led to 45 points for the Steelers and considering the Steelers are 6-1 with them. You can say though they have had good fortunes when her officiating crew has refereed Pittsburgh’s games though.  It’s nice to get some help from the zebra’s once in a while, even if unintentional.