Soul_Survivor88
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Lazar: Steelers’ road woes could give extra edge to Patriots
- On the road, the Steelers’ high-powered offense seems like it can be slowed as much by the location as by the opposing defense. This season the Steelers average 7.2 fewer points per game on the road than in Pittsburgh. Their two worst losses of the season (a 34-3 defeat Week 3 in Philadelphia and a 30-15 defeat Week 6 in Miami) came on the road.
- The three other teams fighting for a berth in Super Bowl LI this weekend don’t have that type of inequality on offense. The Packers, who travel to Atlanta for the NFC Championship Game, score 1.5 fewer points on the road than at home. The Falcons (2.5 more points per game at home) and Patriots (1.6 more on road) also have more balanced road/home splits than the Steelers.
- The Steelers did win a road game in an inhospitable environment, Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, to earn their trip to Foxboro. But their offensive issues were on full display in an 18-16 win during which they did not score a touchdown.
- Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown led the Steelers offense inside the Chiefs 30-yard line seven times, but they emerged with six field goals — and a costly Roethlisberger interception on the Chiefs 5-yard line as well.
- The game was a microcosm of the Steelers’ season on the road. Pittsburgh has the second-best red zone offense in the league at home (scoring touchdowns 73.1 percent of the time), but like the rest of their offense that number plummets on the road to 27th in the NFL at 43.5 percent.