The following is an excerpt from Warren Sharp's 2025 Football Preview book. In addition to Warren's deep, detailed write-up on all 32 NFL teams, each chapter features page after page of full-color charts, stats, and heatmaps as well as penalty analysis from Joe Gibbs. Click here for a full FREE chapter from the 2025 Football Preview.
Penalties are an under-discussed aspect of NFL success and failure. Average teams can become playoff contenders with good discipline, and good teams can become great simply by winning the penalty battle.
Let's look at how the Pittsburgh Steelers performed from a penalty perspective in 2024 and where they can improve in 2025.
How Did Penalties Impact the Pittsburgh Steelers?
The Good
- The Steelers defense ranked as a top-three unit at generating false starts on opposing offenses.
- The defense was a top-three ranked unit at generating dismissed offensive holding penalties. This is a hidden statistic, but noteworthy because of something more egregious than a holding penalty occurring to the opposing team on that play.
- The Steelers offense was the No. 1 beneficiary of roughing the passer penalties. With Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, expect this to continue, as he has received his fair share of these calls over the years.
- The Steelers were one of the least penalized home teams, ranking 29th in penalties per game.
The Bad
- The Steelers' defensive penalties overwhelmingly occurred on the road, with 76% of their defensive pass interference and defensive holding penalties committed in road contests. This will bear close monitoring with nine games away from Pittsburgh in 2025.
Grade: B
It may be a band-aid solution, but the arrival of Aaron Rodgers heightens expectations for Pittsburgh heading into 2025.
It's a mutually beneficial partnership with Rodgers attempting to resurrect his career after a disastrous two years in New York.
Mike Tomlin’s regular season record is well documented, which places immense pressure on Rodgers to perform.
Fair or not, if Pittsburgh finishes the season with a below .500 record, it won't be Tomlin who the media zeroes in on to level the blame.
That alone should be motivation for Rodgers, and he gets a Pittsburgh defensive unit that is one of the best he’s had in his NFL career backing him.
For their part, the Steelers and Tomlin are banking on Rodgers turning back the hands of time and being the catalyst to propel them from a fringe playoff team to a legitimate contender.
Whether this partnership gets the Steelers over the hump in a loaded AFC remains to be seen, but there is no doubt it makes them one of the most compelling teams in the 2025 season.
This analysis continues in the 2025 Football Preview
Order Warren Sharp's 2025 Football Preview to get penalty analysis for all 32 NFL teams.
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Warren Sharp's book shares insights into the players, coaches, teams, and philosophies with one goal: to prepare you for the 2025 NFL season with the smartest information delivered in the fastest, most direct way possible for optimal reviewing and retention.
- Team Chapters previews are in-depth, data driven & full of actionable info
- Fantasy Football player profiles, predictions, and ranks
- Vegas Odds forecast team wins, division rankings, lines for all 2025 games
- Coaching strategic advice for teams, play calling analysis & team tendencies
- Front Office Analysis positional spending, roster construction & cap analysis
- Reasons to bet over/under win totals & analysis of futures betting market
- Rookie draft class deep dive into impact for every team
- Rankings for every positional unit on every team with analysis
