The adage is as true as it is obvious. Protect the football, win the game. In the NFL’s razor-thin margins, one bounce of the football can make the difference. But for some teams, avoiding turnovers is more important to victory than others. The Pittsburgh Steelers sure feel like an example of that. When they play clean, they win. When they don’t, they lose.
It’s influenced Mike Tomlin’s approach, an offense focused on not losing the game instead of winning it. A mindset likely to remain until the team finds its next franchise quarterback.
Putting the data to the test, I’ve looked at the past three seasons, Pittsburgh’s post-Ben Roethlisberger era, to chart team’ winning percentage in games where they didn’t turn the ball over at all versus games in which they turned it over at least once. This isn’t a focus on turnover margin but pure “yes/no” on turnovers. Let’s see where Pittsburgh stacks up.
The table below shows winning percentages in both instances and sorted by the difference in the two. The higher the ranking, the bigger the difference a “clean sheet” of zero turnovers means to a team.
Team
Zero TO Win %
TO Win %
Difference
SF
1.000
.394
.606
IND
.889
.321
.568
**PIT**
**.895**
**.375**
**.520**
SEA
.917
.436
.481
CAR
.588
.118
.470
DET
.957
.500
.457
LVR
.692
.237
.455
CLE
.750
.349
.401
DAL
.875
.486
.389
WSH
.769
.382
.387
MIA
.790
.406
.384
CHI
.539
.211
.328
GB
.786
.460
.326
JAC
.667
.359
.308
PHI
.947
.656
.291
ATL
.667
.381
.286
NYJ
.571
.297
.274
LAC
.667
.400
.267
DEN
.643
.378
.265
LAR
.667
.417
.250
ARI
.471
.235
.236
NE
.500
.268
.232
BAL
.833
.606
.227
HOU
.615
.408
.207
KC
.929
.730
.199
MIN
.818
.625
.193
NYG
.500
.311
.189
NO
.533
.361
.172
TB
.625
.486
.139
BUF
.813
.706
.107
TEN
.364
.300
.064
CIN
.539
.622
\-.083
#### Analysis
Pittsburgh ranks third on the list. An .895 winning percentage (17-2) when the Steelers don’t turn the ball over versus a .375 winning percentage (12-20) when they do. It’s one of the NFL’s biggest disparities and shows how crucial playing clean is to their ability to win. Only the San Francisco 49ers, a perfect 18-0 when they don’t give the ball away, and the Indianapolis Colts, 8-1 in such games, have bigger win/loss deltas.
Of the list, 31 teams have a better winning percentage when they don’t turn it over. The only exception is the Cincinnati Bengals. They’re 7-6 without turnovers but 23-14 with at least one, a peak Bengals stat that shows how reliant they are on their offense to simply outscore the opposition.
Some other notable stats not necessarily shown in the above data.
– The Detroit Lions lead the NFL with the most games without a turnover with 23. They’re 22-1 in those instances.
– The Cleveland Browns have the most games with a turnover – 43 of them. They’re 15-28 in those games compared to going 6-2 in the handful where they’ve played a clean 60 minutes.
– From a pure win standpoint, the Carolina Panthers have the fewest victories in games where they turn the ball over at least once. They’re just 4-30 in those instances. It easily gives them the lowest winning percentage in such games, .118.
They’re 10-7 in games in which they don’t give the ball away.
– The Kansas City Chiefs have the most wins in games where they turn it over. They’re 27-10 in such instances.
– Though this is partially shown in the data, the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans are the only two teams to have a sub-.500 winning percentage when they don’t turn the ball over. Arizona is 8-9, Tennessee 4-7.
– The Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, and Minnesota Vikings all have winning percentages above .500 when they turn it over.
#### Final Thoughts
In a narrow sense, the Steelers’ aversion to turnovers makes sense. The proof is it’s a major driver to their success. It’s why Mike Tomlin [dislikes throwing to the middle of the field](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/02/now-its-public-insider-reveals-why-mike-tomlins-offenses-avoid-middle-of-field/) and is more focused on his offense playing smart than anything else.
Still, it’s hardly a recipe to truly compete and Pittsburgh needs to change. That won’t happen until Tomlin becomes confident his offense can score enough points to overcome turnovers and take the unit out of its protective shell.