5 Key 2014 Offensive Stats for the Pittsburgh Steelers

Numbers cannot tell the complete story of the 2014 Pittsburgh Steelers' offense, but they can provide a strong degree of insight as to how and why the Steelers' offense performed as it did.

Earlier this week, we took a look at five key 2014 defensive stats for the Steelers. Now, let's do the same on offense and see if these numbers can give us any hints of what to expect from that side of the ball in 2015.

Le'Veon Bell's Yards After the Catch: 723

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Wide receiver Antonio Brown might have been the Steelers'—and the NFL's—leading receiver in 2014. But he wasn't the team's top earner of yards after the catch. That honor belongs to running back Le'Veon Bell, who had 83 receptions on 105 targets for 854 yards, three scores and 723 yards after the catch, the second-highest total in the league.

Bell had a breakout season in 2014 thanks to him being a perfect fit for Steelers coordinator Todd Haley's offense. Haley's passing game requires quick, short throws and speedy, elusive receiving targets who can collect the bulk of the yards on the ground, and Bell fits that description.

It shouldn't be surprising if Bell reprises his role as one of the NFL's best after-the-catch specialists in 2015. But his prowess at making plays after catching the football is something the Steelers will miss in the first three games of the season, when Bell is slated to serve a suspension related to last year's DUI arrest.

Backup DeAngelo Williams will be an asset as a running back. But he simply does not have the same dynamic style as Bell when it comes to serving as a receiver. Sure, he may have some targets, but he's not going to get the yards that Bell would.

But it's important to note that while Brown may be the face of the Steelers' receiving corps, Bell's role in the passing game is just as vital to the team's offensive success.

Ben Roethlisberger's Passing Yards Per Game: 309.5

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It was a banner year for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He had a career-high completion percentage of 67.1, tied his personal best for touchdown passes thrown with 32 and, most notably, had the NFL's second-highest passing yards thrown on the year, with 4,952.

That gave him a per-game average of 309.5 yards, also the highest of his career. Roethlisberger has benefited both from Todd Haley's system as well as from the cast of characters around him tasked with making him look good, from his offensive line to his wideouts.

It looks as though Roethlisberger has finally found the system and coordinator that best suit his style and maximizes his strengths, and he's now hit the prime of his career. Things have only gotten better for Roethlisberger over the years, and 2015 should be even better than 2014 for him if the upward trajectory truly is a trend and not just a coincidence. Elite-level production is within his grasp.

Touchdowns Scored by Martavis Bryant: 8

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Wide receiver Martavis Bryant was selected by the Steelers in Round 4 of the 2014 draft. He wasn't the quickest study and he didn't dress for a regular-season game until late October, but once he did take the field, he was a serious impact player for the Steelers.

In 10 regular-season games played, Bryant was targeted 49 times. He caught 26 passes for 549 yards and, most crucially, eight touchdowns. He added another score, and 61 yards, in the Steelers' Wild Card playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, as well.

Bryant is clearly poised to be a deep-threat touchdown scorer for the Steelers again this year. Though he played only 10 regular-season games last year, he had the second-highest average receiving yards per game on the team, with 54.9, and averaged a team-high 21.1 yards per reception. And it cannot be ignored how impressive coming away with eight touchdowns on 26 catches is.

That's not to say if Bryant totaled 52 catches in 2015 that 16 of them will be for touchdowns. But it's clear that Bryant knows just what to do when the football makes its way into his hands. With him joining Antonio Brown as the team's starting wideouts this year, opposing defenses will be struggling to stop either of them.

Sacks Allowed: 33

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sacked just 33 times in the 2014 season, the lowest total he's had when completing a full, 16-game season. There are myriad reasons for this.

One is that Todd Haley's quick-passing offense has the football coming out of Roethlisberger's hands more quickly, thus not allowing for much time for would-be pass-rushers to get to him.

Last year, according to Pro Football Focus, Roethlisberger had an average of 2.5 seconds to throw the ball and took 2.43 seconds to actually attempt a pass. In 2013, those averages were 2.61 and 2.44 seconds, respectively, and in 2012 they were 2.85 and 2.73 seconds. He's gone from one of the slowest passers to one of the quickest.

Another is that Roethlisberger is just typically good at reading and avoiding making mistakes when under pressure. Last year, according to Pro Football Focus, Roethlisberger was pressured on 177—or 27.3 percent—of his dropbacks. He threw 11 touchdowns to zero interceptions while pressured and had a league-high completion percentage of 63.6 percent, and the third-best accuracy percentage, at 70.2 percent.

Finally, there's his offensive line. Pro Football Focus has attributed 22 of Roethlisberger's 33 sacks to the line and ranked the line seventh in pass-blocking efficiency.

A healthy offensive line combined with Roethlisberger's natural ability to evade pressure and an offensive system designed to decrease the effects of a pass rush has paid off. Roethlisberger is in less danger of being injured by an opposing defense than ever before.

Red-Zone Touchdown Percentage: 51.72 Percent

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Last year, including the playoffs, the Steelers' offense averaged 3.4 red-zone appearances per game, the 11th-most in the league. But they only came away with touchdowns on those appearances 51.72 percent of the time, ranking them 19th in the league.

The Steelers did better at home than they did on the road, earning a touchdown 61.29 percent of the time when in the red zone at Heinz Field versus 40.74 percent of the time as the visiting team. But the percentage dropped considerably late in the year, with the Steelers scoring touchdowns on only 33.33 percent of their red-zone appearances in their final three games.

Coordinator Todd Haley is very aware of these issues, saying to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler in June that the red zone "is an area of emphasis for us." Haley was also dismayed by the fact that too many times, the Steelers were within 35 yards of scoring and didn't even get the chance to kick a field goal because the turnovers were so numerous.

Haley added, "once we hit the 35 [yard line] in decent weather conditions, we have to assume we have a chance to get three points. If we don't end up with at least three, then we've hurt ourselves. Too many times last year [zero points] occurred for different reasons, whether it was a turnover or sack. Those add up surprisingly quick."

Haley has been focusing heavily on red-zone drills during OTAs and minicamp, something that should continue into training camp, which begins later this month. Because, as Haley said, "when we get down in there tight, where football gets tough, we have to get the ball in the end zone, whether it’s running or throwing it." Practicing doing so is one way to improve the percentages.