The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense did a much better job against the run last week, holding last year’s rushing champion RB Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders to a meager 62 rushing yards on 17 carries (3.6 YPC). This represents a huge improvement after allowing both Christian McCaffrey and Jerome Ford to eclipse the 100-yard mark in the Steelers’ first two contests.
Heading into Week Four, the running back that will handle most of the work for the Houston Texans is second-year man Dameon Pierce. LB Elandon Roberts was asked about Pierce and his running style prior to practice and Roberts didn’t hold back praise for the young running back.
“Man, last year I played against him late in the season and it was a big eye-opener,” Roberts said to the media via video from the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “I was like, ‘Man, this rookie running hard.’ I remember one play; he threw like three people off him. Okay, I’m not going to play around with him in the hole. I’m coming. I do feel like he’s put a good resume together for himself. I do feel like if you [go] lax on him, he’ll hit you with an explosive run and make you pay for it. So, you have to be ready to go.”
Roberts was a member of the Miami Dolphins last season and played against Pierce, with the Dolphins beating the Texans, 30-15. Pierce only had eight yards on five carries as Miami shut down the Texans’ running game, holding Houston to 36 yards rushing. Still, Pierce earned Roberts’ respect as a physical runner, forcing multiple defenders to bring him down to the ground.
This matches up with the type of back that Pierce was at Florida: a strong, powerful back who was a beast in the weight room as well as on the football field. I personally got to coach Pierce his freshman season in Gainesville, seeing him fresh out of high school squat 585 pounds for reps like it was a warmup. That strength translated to the field as Pierce would bounce off defenders like a bowling ball, looking to be more of the hammer rather than the nail with the ball in his hands. He also has deceptive speed in the open field, like Roberts mentioned, possessing the burst to threaten defenses if he gets to the second level.
Pierce had a productive rookie season last year as a fourth-round pick, rushing for 939 yards and four touchdowns on 220 carries while catching 30 passes for 165 yards and a score in 13 games. The Texans added RB Devin Singletary this offseason to complement Pierce in the backfield, with the former currently playing 31% of the offensive snaps. The matchup of Pierce and Roberts on Sunday should be a sight to see as Roberts loves to set the tone as a downhill thumper against the run, potentially setting up some pad-popping collisions in the hole between the two.
