Remember when head coach Mike Tomlin said that the Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t bashful with their intentions to establish a strong running game last season to aid Kenny Pickett in his first NFL season? Tomlin continued to reiterate that statement throughout the offseason and into the preseason, stating that Pittsburgh wants to have a balanced offense with the running game setting up success for Pickett in the passing game.
Well, through the first two regular-season games, the running game has been nowhere to be found. The Steelers are currently second-to-last in the NFL with 96 rushing yards through two game and are also second worst in football in total rushing attempts (31). Pittsburgh abandoned the running early against the San Francisco 49ers in Week One, rushing only 10 times for 41 yards. The Steelers came out passing early and got down big by halftime, forcing them to become more one-dimensional. In Week Two against the Cleveland Browns, the running game was flat out bad. Pittsburgh had negative rushing yards well into the second quarter as RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren couldn’t get anything behind a struggling offensive line.
For being potentially Pittsburgh’s identity on offense as a team that wanted to play bully ball in 2023, the running game has been a big disappointment. However, things are shaping up for Pittsburgh to receive a shot in the arm this Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, who have struggled to stop the run so far. Las Vegas ranks 27th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed (277) and is allowing 4.9 yards per carry, good for 26th in the league, according to Pro Football Reference. EDGE Chandler Jones is expected to miss the game as he’s been placed on the NFI list while dealing with a personal issue, depleting the Raiders’ defensive front prior to Sunday night’s matchup.
The Raiders just gave up 123 rushing yards to second-year RB James Cook of the Buffalo Bills, as the defense struggled to keep him from reaching the second level. Pittsburgh had success against Las Vegas on the ground last season, running for 136 yards in a low-scoring affair, suggesting that the Steelers could do the same again against a defense that doesn’t have the same level of talent up front that Pittsburgh has seen the last two weeks.
The Steelers haven’t been executing in the running game, but perhaps the answer lies in making a few small changes to what they are doing up front. As Alex Kozora pointed out in a recent post, the Steelers haven’t pulled their offensive guards on a run play this season despite having capable guards in Isaac Seumalo and James Daniels who can pull and work in space. With more of a focus on zone runs and only one gap-run play in Pittsburgh’s first two games, perhaps making that simple switch to get either Seumalo or Daniels leading the way for either Harris or Warren could yield better results.
Heading into Sunday Night Football, it’s time that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Pittsburgh has the pieces to be a good running team and is facing an opponent that isn’t as stout against the run as the Steelers’ last two opponents. Pittsburgh needs to make it known early that it is going to establish the run Sunday against Las Vegas, getting Harris and Warren going to take the pressure off Pickett, allowing him to not have to press right out the gate. Having a strong running game would do wonders for sparking this dormant offense, and Pittsburgh is set up to start going in the right direction in primetime.
