One of the most telling stats in all of football is point differential. This is a statistic that can typically weed out the bad teams and separate them from the teams that are truly great. Last year, for example, the Minnesota Vikings weren't nearly as dominant as their record impressive 13-4 record would suggest, and they actually had a negative point differential on the season.
Point differential is the difference between a team's points scored and points allowed on the year. Using point differential, we can track the point margin for each team -- the average number of points in which they win/lose the game.
The Pittsburgh Steelers had an incredibly rocky start to the season that opened with a humiliating loss against the 49ers. After two straight wins, how does their average scoring margin look compared to the rest of the NFL entering Week 4?
NFL Team Average Scoring Margin entering Week 4:
1. Miami +19.7
2. Buffalo +18.7
3. San Francisco +16.0
3. Dallas +16.0
5. Cleveland +13.7
6. Kansas City +12.7
7. Philadelphia +8.3
8. Green Bay +6.0
9. Baltimore +5.3
10. Detroit +3.0
11. LA Rams +2.3
12. Arizona +1.7 +1.7
13. Indianapolis +1.3
14. New Orleans +1.0
15. Atlanta +0.3 +0.3
16. Tampa Bay -0.3
16. LA Chargers -0.3
16. Seattle -0.3 -0.3
19. Houston -2.3
19. New England -2.3
21. Minnesota -4.3
22. Pittsburgh -4.7
23. Jacksonville -6.0
24. NY Jets -6.3
25. Cincinnati -7.0
26. Tennessee -7.3
27. Carolina -9.0
28. Washington -9.3
29. Las Vegas -10.7
30. Denver -17.7
31. NY Giants -18.3
32. Chicago -19.7
Right now, the Miami Dolphins are absolutely pouring it on. After narrowly topping the Chargers in Week 1 and the Patriots in Week 2, Mike McDaniels' team put up one of the most impressive offensive performances you will ever see. This helped them jump out the league lead in scoring margin at +19.7 points per game.
The Dolphins are trailed closely by the Bills who -- after losing to the Jets in Week 1 -- have mounted back-to-back blowout wins against the Raiders and Commanders. Now Buffalo and Miami will both be put to the test as they play each other in Week 4. Dallas and San Francisco also rank near the top of the league -- winning by an average margin of 16 points per game.
At the bottom is a thoroughly underwhelming Chicago Bears team led by QB Justin Fields. Despite their efforts to improve their offense, the Bears are losing by an average margin of 19.7 points per game. The Giants and Broncos haven't fared much better.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers might have a 2-1 record as they sit atop the AFC North, but that doesn't mean that things have gone swimmingly so far. Mike Tomlin's team still has a negative point differential on the season of -4.7. This is good for just 22nd in the NFL entering Week 4.
The Steelers don't want to be this year's fraudulent team, so they are going to need to start stepping up their performance. Their Week 3 primetime win over the Raiders was a step in the right direction toward doing so.
It's hard to fake a stat as important as point differential. Typically, this is a good indication of which teams are true Super Bowl contenders and which teams are pretenders. It's time for the Steelers to start pouring it on their opponents in the coming weeks.