Prior to Thursday night’s preseason finale on the road at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against the Atlanta Falcons, fourth-year Pittsburgh Steelers running back Anthony McFarland Jr. had – to that point — taken advantage of every opportunity provided to him this offseason in the backfield vying for the No. 3 role.
Behind Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, the Steelers had a real need for a dynamic No. 3 guy. McFarland seized upon the opportunity and answered the bell.
Thursday night, he kicked the proverbial door down, cementing his spot as the No. 3 back in Pittsburgh entering the 2023 season.
Against the Falcons, McFarland carried the football 10 times for 55 yards and a touchdown, playing a key role in the second quarter as the Steelers dominated the line of scrimmage and really got after the Falcons in the Steelers’ 24-0 win.
It was a continuation of strong play throughout training camp and the first two preseason games to date for McFarland. Prior to Thursday night’s showing, McFarland had a 15-yard touchdown run against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and showed off his shiftiness against the Buffalo Bills in space on 11 total touches at Acrisure Stadium.
For all the talk leading into the preseason finale regarding Harris, Warren and the overall pecking order at the position from the national and local media, McFarland was the story coming out of the game.
Let’s look at the tape.
On his second touch of the game, McFarland ripped off a 33-yard run down the left sideline, catching Atlanta cornerback Breon Borders losing containment on the outside, allowing McFarland to bounce the run and then hit the jets.
The vision here from McFarland is really good.
He sees wide receiver Gunner Olszewski with good leverage and position on Borders, and sees tight end Darnell Washington and left tackle Broderick Jones controlling the left side of the line of scrimmage. With nothing really open inside, McFarland takes a chance with his speed to get to the outside, and the gamble pays off — again — with his speed.
The explosive run against Atlanta was very similar to his touchdown in Tampa Bay.
After his explosive run, McFarland continued to stack strong runs against the Atlanta defense.
Things have very clearly slowed down for McFarland overall as a runner.
Earlier in his career he was constantly trying to hit the home run, putting blinders on and really just going too fast and out of control. He’s slowed down big-time in the last year and a half. The shiftiness to his game has really blossomed as well.
Really nice job here from McFarland in a phone booth, making the defender miss in the hole just enough, allowing him to pick up an additional five yards on the run.
Same drive, McFarland showed decisiveness to hit the hole and take what was there on a third and short, moving the chains.
Hit it and go.
Good job again by McFarland.
On the third and 3, there’s no time to play around and try to make guys miss. He does a good job of running behind his pads, running through an arm tackle attempt and getting enough to move the chains. That’s the sign of a mature running back understanding the down and distance and situation, knowing that a first down will drain more clock and put Pittsburgh in full control overall.
That third down conversion led to his eventual 5-yard touchdown run.
That’s a fantastic block by rookie left tackle Broderick Jones, picking up the defensive back shooting in late, giving McFarland enough time and space to find the hole.
Once McFarland sees things develop, he hits the crease with good speed and power, having a nose for the goal line to get the ball across for the touchdown, putting the game away for good.
He’s not the biggest or strongest running back, but the determination shown here to fight for every blade of grass and get the ball across was rather impressive. McFarland had an opportunity in front of him and he kicked the door down, full stop.
While there are concerns about his special teams abilities and pass protection overall, McFarland’s play has seemingly cemented his spot on the 53-man roster as the No. 3 running back. He’s done everything asked of him this offseason, training camp and preseason, producing every time he’s been called upon.
That’s a positive development for the former Maryland star who was running out of time and options just a few months ago with the Black and Gold.
