One year after attempting an unprecedented (at least in the modern era) 11 two-point conversions, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would like to see his Pittsburgh Steelers take their two-point strategy to the next level by going for two after every touchdown in 2016.
“I think we should go for it every time,” Roethlisberger said, per ESPN.com. “Why not? If we do it every day and we’re 50 percent…why not give it a shot?”
And he’s right. When you have a top-five offense in terms of both points and yardage, and you’re balanced, and you’ve got a multiple weapons in the receiving game, and you’ve got a veteran quarterback and an experienced play-caller, why not?
With extra points becoming slightly tougher to convert, and when you have all of those pieces in place, the numbers actually indicate you’d be silly not to employ such a strategy. All you have to do is convert about half of your two-point attempts and it’s statistically worth it.
Dating back 22 years, the Steelers have converted 62 percent of their two-point attempts, while the league average is still a solid 47 percent. That league-wide rate was 48 percent last year, but the Steelers converted eight of their 11 attempts (73 percent). Based on that as well as the lower PAT rates stemming from the distance change on those attempts, it’s safe to say that the Steelers’ strategy bought them at least an extra 0.3 points per game in 2015.
If they were just as successful on every single touchdown, rather than on 11 of their 43 scores, they’d have scored an extra 1.4 points per game last season. And that, these days, can be huge.
