An important stat to team success (or lack thereof) is pressure on the quarterback. Today, I wanted to provide data on this from last season and discuss what it could mean for the 2026 Steelers.
Here is a visual of 2025 pressures on both sides of the ball:
Seeing Pittsburgh in the top right emphasizes that they limited pressures on offense while creating them on defense. In fact, the Steelers offense allowed the fewest pressures of any NFL team last year. That number came in at 157 pressures per Sports Info Solutions (SIS), nearly 20 fewer than any other offense.
This is multi-faceted, of course. QB Aaron Rodgers quick time to throw is key, which we’ve highlighted thoroughly on Steelers Depot. There are pros and cons to that, with one of the main positives being keeping the 42-year-old quarterback clean.
The offensive line deserves credit for that 2025 pressure number, no doubt. Many know by now the plan seems to point to musical chairs in terms of position changes. Only time will tell if the unit can provide similar results in 2026.
Of course, the hope is they do. But the flip side is it could take some time to gel. One thing is for sure: It would bode well for Rodgers.
Looking at the defensive results, Pittsburgh’s defense ranked fifth as a team creating pressures. There were 258 of them, to be exact, and just over 100 more than the Steelers offense allowed. That differential was the best in the league in 2025, with Seattle coming in at second at 93.
Pittsburgh has one of the best edge-rushing units in the NFL and has invested in its d-line, which includes solid depth and youth (that will hopefully trend positively). While history is just that, I looked at the schedule for 2026. Ten of the 17 games on the Steelers 2026 schedule were teams that had below-average pressure results on offense. Hopefully that is similar this year, and Pittsburgh’s D can eat.
While the Steelers are hoping for a more successful season in 2026, being top five in pressures on both offense and defense again certainly wouldn’t hurt.