In 2025, the Pittsburgh Steelers allowed too many third-down conversions to opposing offenses. At this time I have a look at and supply information on this, together with new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s monitor report.
Here’s a visible of third-down conversions allowed by NFL defenses the final two seasons. The 2025 numbers are on the X-axis, with 2024 outcomes on the Y-axis:
We will see Pittsburgh was fairly good at stopping third-down conversions in 2024 at 35.3 %, second finest within the NFL. They adopted it up by permitting a 41.5-percent third-down conversion fee that ranked twenty fifth final yr.
That may be a regarding drop-off that had a really unfavorable ripple impact for the Steelers protection in 2025. Particularly an incapability to get off the sphere with the Steelers dealing with the second most performs of any protection final yr. This, in fact, tuckered out the unit and clearly restricted the offense’s alternatives, capping the crew’s potential.
Clearly the hope is to rectify this for 2026. This obtained me interested by how Graham has fared in his stops as a defensive coordinator.
In all seven seasons Patrick Graham was a defensive coordinator (previous to Pittsburgh), his items by no means had an above-average third-down conversion fee:
2025 Raiders: 46.3 % (thirtieth)
2024 Raiders: 39.8 % (seventeenth)
2023 Raiders: 41.4 % (twenty seventh)
2022 Raiders: 41.7 % (twenty sixth)
2021 Giants: 39.8 % (sixteenth)
2020 Giants: 44.6 % (twenty fourth)
2019 Dolphins: 41.8 % (twenty fourth)
Two of his seven defenses landed round common, most lately the 2024 Raiders together with the 2021 Giants. The opposite 5 ranked twenty fourth or worse, mirroring the identical points the 2025 Steelers had. On high of that, final season was even worse than Pittsburgh and third-worst within the NFL.
Whereas historical past is simply that, the numbers paint a reasonably bleak image. In the identical span (2019-2025), Pittsburgh’s protection ranked high 10 4 of seven seasons. Since 2022, although, it solely occurred as soon as (2024).
It’s just one facet of play, albeit an enormous one, and Graham has had profitable defenses in different statistical metrics. One might argue the 2026 Steelers are his finest unit on paper as a defensive coordinator. For my part, third-down protection must be one of many greatest issues on the radar for enchancment for Graham and Pittsburgh. It might go a protracted option to fixing many key points for the Metal Metropolis in 2026.
