Study: Baltimore Broke Pittsburgh’s Play-Action

Steelers playactionIf you want to build a game plan to slow down the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, you must eliminate play-action. In both games against them this season, the Baltimore Ravens did. Without that, the Steelers lose a core part of their Russell Wilson-led offense, reducing big plays and preventing the offense from getting into a flow.

The data and the tape tell that story. Below are Pittsburgh’s successes in key categories—completion percentage, yards per attempt (YPA), and QB rating—with Wilson as the starter against Baltimore compared to all his other starts.

Team Completion % YPA QB Rating BAL 57.9% 7.1 75.6 Non-BAL 68.5% 9.6 105.5 If you’re interested in the raw stats, they…