Despite injuries and suspensions to four of their top offensive stars, the Steelers have proven to be the most explosive team in the league.
They have 19 pass plays of at least 40 yards — the most in the league and six more than No. 2 Arizona.
What’s more, they are also second in the AFC with 14 runs of at least 20 yards, even though they've had just one in the past five games.
That’s what the Baltimore Ravens are up against today when the teams meet at M&T Bank Stadium.
“Pittsburgh is built on the big plays,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “They’re not the kind of team that has to be methodical. The Chiefs were a methodical football team, and the first drive, we allowed them to drive down the field and score.
“The Steelers are completely different. It’s almost like they don’t try to drive the ball down the field. They’re just looking for big plays. They’re driving the ball down the field in one shot, and Ben [Roethlisberger] is one of the best ever at doing that.”
Harbaugh is only partially correct. The Steelers can play it the other way, too. Their comeback victory against the Denver Broncos a week ago is proof.
The Steelers’ average time of possession the past four games is nearly 33 minutes per game, and that was against three of the top nine defenses in the league, including Nos. 1 (Denver) and 2 (Seattle). Cincinnati (No. 9) was the other.
The Broncos took away all the big plays — the longest gain was the winning 23-yard touchdown to Antonio Brown — but the Steelers still possessed the ball for 31:16 and became the first team to score 30 points against Denver’s top-ranked defense.
That, though, is nothing new, either. The Steelers have averaged 30.5 points per game against four of the top nine defenses in the league — Denver (1), Seattle (2), Arizona (7) and Cincinnati (9).
“Ben does a great job of making great throws and we all see that he’s very hot right now throwing to his receivers,” said Ravens inside linebacker C.J. Mosley.
Since Le’Veon Bell was injured against the Bengals Nov. 1 and placed on injured reserve, Roethlisberger has taken control of the offense like never before.
In his past six games, he has completed 66.4 percent of his passes (176 of 265) for 2,195 yards and 13 touchdowns with a passer rating of 97.3. Factor his average of 366 yards per game in that stretch over an entire season and Roethlisberger would have an astounding 5,853 yards, more than any quarterback in NFL history.
Even his current average of 336 yards per game, highest in the league, would compute to 5,376 yards over a 16-game season, which would rank as the third-highest total in NFL history.
That has meant a lot of work for Brown, who has 64 catches for 868 yards and six touchdowns in that same six-game stretch — a career season for most NFL receivers.
The Ravens will likely use cornerback Jimmy Smith to cover Brown if Smith is recovered from a thigh injury he sustained a week ago against Kansas City.
“I get asked, ‘Does he surprise you when he catches these many yards or this many passes or this many touchdowns?’ I’m more surprised when he doesn’t do those things because he’s so special,” Roethlisberger said.
First Published: December 27, 2015, 5:00 a.m.
