Analyzing the Steelers preseason loss to the Buccaneers, by the numbers

The Pittsburgh Steelers had their second contest in preparation for the 2025 season where they fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Pittsburgh in Week 2 of the preseason. There was plenty to take away from the game on both the positive and negative side, so there is a lot to dissect and improve on moving forward across all units that took the field.

So without further ado, here are some of the numbers involved in the Steelers preseason win over the Jaguars.

-1

After playing a clean game in the turnover department in the first preseason game but not having any takeaways either, the Steelers saw a lot more action in the turnover department in Week 2. Unfortunately, the Steelers came out on the wrong end of the differential as their final of three interceptions ultimately set up Tampa Bay’s game-winning field goal as time expired. Of the Steelers three turnovers, Tampa Bay turned them into 10 of their 17 points with the other turnover happening where the Steelers were ready to score themselves. The Steelers had two takeaways, one of which they turned into a touchdown.

130

After only rushing for 66 yards on 25 attempts in the first game, the Steelers bounced back for 130 yards on 26 rushing attempts for a 5.0 yards per rush average. Kaleb Johnson led the way with 50 yards on 11 carries followed by Lew Nichols with 42 yards on only 3 carries. Additionally, the Steelers had 9 rushing attempts that went for 7 yards or more.

3

On the other side of the ball, the Steelers only surrendered 41 rushing yards on 24 carries for a 1.7 yard average. The Buccaneers only had one rushing play for 7 yards or more and only had 3 total rushing yards in the second half on 9 carries. Granted there were two plays setting up the final field goal which lost 5 yards on 2 attempts, but it still left the Buccaneers rushing for only 8 yards on 7 carries if those plays are removed.

33% vs. 17%

The Steelers also came up on the wrong side of the third down conversion number in this matchup. Defensively it was very close to last week’s 30% as the Buccaneers were 33% as they converted 6 of 18 third down attempts. But offensively, the Steelers saw a huge drop off as they only converted 17% of their third downs, which were 2 of 12 attempts. In the first half alone, the Steelers did not convert a third down in 5 attempts.

3

The Steelers also had a problem with penalties on offense, with the pre-snap penalties being costly. The Steelers had 3 false starts called against them on Saturday night, and all 3 lead to the Steelers not converting another first down on the drive. One of those drives ended with a punt, another a missed field goal, and the third was a failed fourth-down conversion.

36.0

One of the bright spots on offense over the two preseason games has been wide receiver Roman Wilson. This week, Wilson had 2 receptions for 72 yards with a 36.0 yard average.

5.4 vs 3.8

The Steelers had significantly more offensive success than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the game. The Steelers had 316 yards on 59 plays while Tampa only had 240 yards on 64 plays. This equated to a 5.4 yards per play average for the Steelers compared to Tampa’s 3.8 yards. Looking at just the first half of the game, the disparity was even more as the Steelers had a 6.0 yard average to Tampa’s 3.5 yards. In the second half, things were a little closer with the Steelers at 4.8 yards per play compared to Tampa’s 4.0 yard average.

2 for 4

The Steelers successfully converted touchdowns on 2 of their 4 red town trips, both of which reached a goal-to-go situation. The two drives where the Steelers were not successful ended in a turnover and a missed field goal.

26.5 vs. 32.0

One area in which the Steelers struggled the first preseason game but was much better in Week 2 was their kickoff coverage. On two kickoff returns, the Buccaneers did not reach the 30-yard line either time and had an average starting position of the 26.5-yard line. On the Steelers three kickoff returns, two of them reached at least the 35-yard line with an average starting position of the 32-yard line.

2

Once again, the most important thing in a preseason game is to exit as healthy as possible. Although Nick Herbig was ruled out of the game with a hamstring injury, head coach Mike Tomlin did not list him at the end of the game and said that he is fine. The two injuries that were noted were the chest injury of long snapper Christian Kuntz and offensive lineman Gareth Warren was being evaluated for a concussion. In all, it could have been much worse news, especially with Coach Tomlin saying it was good news so far on Kuntz, but it still would be better if this number was zero.

So there are some numbers to help put the Steelers Week 2 preseason loss in perspective. The Steelers now have a short week for one last contest to get ready for the 2025 regular season.

So what numbers from Saturday night’s preseason game stand out to you? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.