The Pittsburgh Steelers had plenty of big play in their 27-15 win last Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills, but the top play was likely RB Jaylen Warren’s 62-yard TD run. Pittsburgh hasn’t had a running back break off a run that long in years, resulting in a lot of excitement among the fans in attendance as well as those watching at home.
LT Dan Moore Jr. said after the game that same excitement was felt on the field as well as on the sidelines when Warren got loose in the open field. The explosive play on the ground was unlike anything Moore’s seen during his time in Pittsburgh.
“I felt like I was a little late off the ball, so I tried to drive the d-end as far out as I could,” Moore said, according to Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I could just feel Jaylen run underneath me. I heard fans scream. I turn and look, and he’s popped 15 yards down the field. I see him hit the sidelines, he breaks a tackle and that’s when I know, ‘Damn, he’s gone.’ Talk about exciting and electrifying. First drive, at home, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
When you look back on the play, you do see a little bit of a delay from Moore coming out of his stance as the rest of the offensive line gets off the ball quicker. Still, Moore successfully drives the defender out to the side as LG Isaac Seumalo and RG James Daniels seal off the linebackers to spring Warren into the secondary. There he picked up a key block from WR Diontae Johnson as he beat S Jordan Poyer (No. 21) to the sideline, outrunning him to the corner for the score.
In Moore’s first two seasons in the league, the longest rush he has seen in the regular season was by Najee Harris in 2021, picking up 37 yards on his TD run to ice the game against the Cleveland Browns. Warren’s run was nearly double that this past weekend, bringing an element of explosiveness to the running game that Pittsburgh hasn’t had in quite some time.
Warren has cemented himself as a key member of the backfield going forward for Pittsburgh, bringing the lightning to complement Harris’ thunder as a between the tackles grinder. For a team that wants to have an offensive identity in its running game, the Steelers are sitting in a good spot, having the running backs as well as the offensive line to pick up the tough yards as well as generate explosive plays on the ground.
For being the first offensive drive at home, Pittsburgh couldn’t have drawn it up any better. Hopefully that success can carries into the regular season as Warren continues to make a name for himself as one of the better complement backs in the league.
