Two pass-heavy offenses will face off in Paris, France this weekend when the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers square off on Sunday.
The Steelers throw the ball on 66.1% of their plays, the second-highest rate in the NFL. The Saints are tied for ninth, passing on 61.7% of their plays.
In fact, many of their metrics are either similar or exactly the same including yards per attempt, yards per completion, air yards per attempt, interception rate and passing touchdowns per attempt.
Despite that, there are two very important metrics that separate the two air attacks: yards after catch and sack rate.
Yards After Catch
Although the Saints started the season strong picking up yards after catch, they’ve since fallen to No. 23 in the NFL with only 592 of the team’s 1,443 receiving yards (41%) coming from receivers with the ball in their hands.
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, leads the league in picking up extra yards in the passing game with 892 of their 1,487 receiving yards (60%) coming after the catch.
Both the Steelers’ and Saints’ defenses rank in the middle of the league (No. 16 and No. 18, respectively) in yards after catch allowed, as well.
That likely indicates that the offensive trends won’t change. However, if the New Orleans defense can find a way to limit opportunities after receptions by making stops at the catch point, it could be a true difference-maker in Sunday’s game.
Sack Rate
Both quarterbacks, Tyler Shough for the Saints and Aaron Rodgers for the Steelers, have taken more than their fair share of hits this season, but Rodgers has been beaten up a bit more.
Shough, sacked 13 times this year, falls six sacks shy of Rodgers’ 19. The Steelers’ allowed sack rate of 7.5% ranks No. 23 in the league. The Saints’ sack rate ranks No. 10 in the NFL going into Week 7 at just 5.2%.
The Steelers are at their worst in games where Rodgers is consistently contacted. That will be a key for the Saints’ pass rush, especially for edge rushers Chase Young and Carl Granderson. Both ends will have favorable matchups against rookie right tackle Max Iheanachor and third-year tackle Troy Fautanu, who moved to left tackle for the first time in the pros this season.
These two factors could be massive differentiators in Sunday’s game. Whichever team ends up on the right side could very well be celebrating the first-ever NFL victory in France.
