While the Pittsburgh Steelers scored two impressive TDs through the air last Friday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they did record a rushing touchdown that tends to go unnoticed. That touchdown was scored by RB Anthony McFarland Jr., a guy who has dealt with his fair share of adversity his first few seasons in the league but got his chance in the spotlight as he put Pittsburgh in a comfortable 20-7 lead.
When asked if he enjoyed helping spring McFarland on his scoring run Friday night, Washington mentioned with a laugh that McFarland didn’t actually go to the gap Pittsburgh was trying to block up, but it ended up being the right decision.
“I mean he’s an excellent runner, but that’s why he played for us, and he just read the field and do whatever he do and he scored,” Washington said on 93.7 The Fan. “I was just excited for him just to be on our play when someone scored a touchdown. So, kind of got hyped up.”
When you look back on the touchdown run by McFarland, you do see that he bounced the run to the outside of where the play intended him to go. Watch as TE Zach Gentry goes in motion to the right sight of the line of scrimmage, lining up next to Washington. Washington climbs to the second level to pick up the linebacker while Gentry is in charge of covering up the base defensive end. However, the defensive starts to work down the line of scrimmage into the gap, causing McFarland to bounce the run outside. Getting into green grass, he outruns the rest of the defense to the sideline for the touchdown.
It wasn’t exactly how the offense drew it up, but McFarland going off-script resulted in him reaching pay dirt. For a guy who spent most of the 2022 season on the practice squad, it was a meaningful moment for McFarland.
He’s the leader in the clubhouse for Pittsburgh’s No. 3 running back job, having been the best runner and receiver of the bunch behind Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren throughout training camp. That touchdown run only helped his case for the 53-man roster. Finishing the preseason strong could make him a roster lock.
