Stats of the weird from a game that makes me very, very queasy.
– You know I always start with the score. The Seattle Seahawks 39-30 victory was the first 39-30 final in NFL history. So at least the Pittsburgh Steelers made history. Hooray?
– Based on the information available to me, Markus Wheaton’s 201 yards receiving were the most yards he’s ever had. And I mean, ever. His previous high was 173 yards during his senior year of high school in 2008 when his school lost to Desert Vista 20-21.
– Doug Baldwin’s 80 yard touchdown in the 4th quarter of today’s game was only third such pass allowed by the Steelers since 2000. Tom Brady hit Aaron Dobson for 81 yards in 2013 while Todd Bouman found Michael Bennett for 80 way back in 2001. The Seahawks also have a player named Michael Bennett, if you did that sort of funky symmetry.
– The Steelers had two quarterbacks, Landry Jones and Ben Roethlisberger throw 2 interceptions today. They’re the first pair of Steelers to do so in a game since Kordell Stewart and Mike Tomczak in 1999. They did it against the Seahawks, too, proving that yes, irony is cruel. Stewart had three picks that day.
– DeAngelo Williams’ 88 yards receiving are second most in the professional regular season career. His career high is 101 way back in 2006 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
– Kind of a predictable stat since high pass attempts usually mean playing from behind. But Roethlisberger has thrown 50+ attempts in a game five times, including his 55 today. But he’s just 1-4 in those games. Only win was in 2011 over New England.
– Landry Jones is the first Steelers QB to have two interceptions with one or fewer completions since Terry Hanratty in 1974. On that day, Hanratty threw five passes, three incomplete, and two interceptions. Jones had two picks to only one completion today.
Neither of those are still the worst QB performances in Steelers’ history though. Joe Gilliam arguably has the worst. An 0/7, three interception day in 1973. Though if you are familiar with Gilliam’s story and battle with drugs, you know that stat is a lot more depressing than what the box score reads.
– Russell Wilson became the first QB since Jim Kelly to throw for at least 330 yards and five touchdowns against the Steelers. And only the 4th QB since 1960, as far back as records date. Wilson is the first of the four to also not throw an interception. Even without the relatively arbitrary yardage threshold, Wilson is the sixth QB to ever throw at least five touchdowns against the Steelers.
To sum up, from a box score perspective, Wilson had one of the best games ever against the Steelers’ defense.
– Will Johnson had two receptions today for just the third time since the 2013 season.
– This is the second straight season Roethlisberger has been picked off by a defensive tackle. Haloti Ngata got him last year.
– Last stat to make your stomach turn. Doug Baldwin is the first wide receiver to catch three touchdown passes against the Steelers since Qadry Ismail in 1999. Two players have done it since but both were tight ends (Alge Crumpler and Rob Gronkowski, the latter doing it twice).
