The Steelers once again lead the NFL in sacks with 36, which if it holds up would be the fourth consecutive season in which they've led the league in that statistic.
They've had six games with four or more sacks this season. They have a streak of having at least one sack in 66 consecutive games, three short of the NFL record of 69 set by the Buccaneers from 1999 through 2003.
What they're not getting, however, are holding penalties called against offenses playing them.
Despite their league-leading total of sacks and 126 quarterback pressures, which leads the league by 16 over Tampa Bay, which has played 10 games to the Steelers' nine, Steelers defensive players are rarely held by opposing offensive players.
Opponents have been called for just six holding penalties in the Steelers' first nine games, a total that is tied for the third-fewest in the NFL as they take their 9-0 record on the road again this Sunday against the Jaguars (1-8) at TIAA Bank Stadium.
"Well, they have called some," Keith Butler said Thursday. "I wouldn’t say they are on par, but they have called some. We can’t worry about it. We have to play ball and do what we can do and try to get after the quarterback or get after the guy with the ball as much as we can and play our position."
League-wide, holding penalties are down across the board, though some teams have certainly benefitted more than others. The Falcons, for example, have been called for holding just three times in nine games. The Raiders, Panthers and Cowboys have been called just four times.
But the lack of holding calls would seem to level the playing field against a defense as talented and aggressive as that of the Steelers.
Opponents were called for 22 holding penalties against the Steelers in 2019, which was right on the league average of 22.8 called per team. In 2018, Steelers' opponents were penalized 28 times for holding, slightly above the league average of 23.
In both of those seasons, teams averaged well over one holding penalty per game. This year the average is 8.31 holding penalties called per team, well below an average of one per game. There have been 1.81 holding penalties called per game this season, down from 2.74 per game last year, a number that was largely in line with the previous decade.
Interestingly enough, the lack of holding penalties called hasn't translated over to Pittsburgh's offense. The Steelers have been called for 12 holding penalties this season, which is third-most in the NFL. Tight end Eric Ebron has been penalized for holding three times, the same number as the entire Falcons roster.
So, apparently, the Steelers -- particularly Ebron -- are holding but their opponents have not.
The Steelers have allowed Ben Roethlisberger to be sacked just 10 times this season, the fewest in the NFL, but the holding penalties can be drive killers, especially when they're not getting called on the other team.
"The fewer third down-and-20 or third down-and-10-15s that we can have would explain and probably say that you’re running the ball pretty efficiently, and you’re probably throwing it pretty efficiently," Randy Fichtner said. "When you have a penalty or a loss-yardage play in the run game, a sack those put you behind schedule, and it’s really tough."
But there's really not a lot that can be done about it.
Offenses are thriving at least in part because of the lack of holding penalties. The NFL continues to tout the fact that scoring is up across the board this season. With 7,377 points this year through 10 weeks, 2020 has been the highest-scoring season in league history.
And the Steelers have certainly benefitted from that. They're averaging 30.1 points per game, the most in franchise history. This season, that only places them in a tie for fourth in scoring.
But all that scoring also comes at a price -- particularly for defenses. The Ravens lead the NFL allowing 18.3 points per game. The Steelers are third at 19.0. Just four teams are giving up less than 20 points per game. Ten teams allowed less than 20 points per game in 2019, led by the Patriots at 14.1.
It's nearly impossible to keep teams from scoring when officials are allowing offenses to clutch, grab and hold defensive players at will.
"We can’t spend a lot of time worried about the officials’ calls and stuff like that because the next play is coming," Butler said. "Whatever they call, we have to adjust to it anyway. It isn’t like we can say, 'That’s not a holding penalty,' or 'Yeah, that is a holding penalty.' We don’t have a say-so in it. We just try to play the game and adapt to whatever the cards we get dealt. It’s all we can do."