The Steelers are a big 9.5-point underdog in this week’s game, likely creating an extreme passing game script.
THE BLITZ projects the Pittsburgh Steelers to be the 3rd-least pass-centric team on the slate this week with a 61.9% pass rate, accounting for their underlying tendencies and matchup dynamics.
THE BLITZ projects this game to have the 3rd-largest volume of plays run out of all the games this week at 135.3 plays, accounting for the tendencies of each team and game dynamics.
Opposing teams have averaged 38.0 pass attempts per game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense this year: 9th-most in the NFL.
Diontae Johnson has run a route on 96.3% of his team’s passing plays this year, ranking in the 93rd percentile among WRs.
Cons
Diontae Johnson has accrued quite a few less receiving yards per game (59.0) this year than he did last year (71.0).
Diontae Johnson’s possession skills have tailed off this year, with his Completion% shrinking from 66.4% to 60.6%.
Diontae Johnson’s pass-game effectiveness has tailed off this year, accumulating just 6.18 yards-per-target vs a 7.32 figure last year.
Diontae Johnson’s talent in picking up extra yardage have worsened this year, averaging a measly 2.61 yards-after-the-catch (YAC) vs a 4.16 figure last year.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense has yielded the 3rd-least receiving yards per game in the NFL (just 131.0) to wide receivers this year.