There’s no question the Pittsburgh Steelers must get their running back back on track tonight against the Las Vegas Raiders. If they can’t run on this defense, they can’t run on anybody. According to a Sunday morning NFL Network report from Mike Garafolo, the Steelers plan to get RB Jaylen Warren more involved in order to accomplish that goal.
Per Garafolo, Warren will see more carries tonight.
“It’s Jaylen Warren, expected to get more work in the running game,” Garafolo said on The Insiders. “Expect that to go up. Mike Tomlin alluded to this the other day. They feel like he can be a spark for this offense and for this running game.”
Through two games, Warren has nine carries. Running room has been hard to find and he’s rushed for only 26 yards, an average of 2.9 yards per carry. Although Najee Harris has outperformed him in every major statistical measure (run success rate, yards per carry, first down rate, longest run, yards after contact average), Warren is a more downhill and explosive runner and Pittsburgh may be mixing things up to provide a spark to their ground attack.
For the season, Harris is playing 55 percent of the offense’s snaps. Warren sits at 41 percent. Last year, those numbers sat at 66 and 31 percent, respectively.
During his Tuesday press conference, Tomlin expressed confidence in Warren and his ability to make plays with the ball in his hands. He had a great performance as a receiver against the Cleveland Browns, catching four passes for 66 yards including a couple of third down conversions. Warren’s role this year has been that of a third down back. According to charting done by our Tom Mead, Warren has been on the field for 18 of the team’s 21 plays of 3rd and 5 or longer. Najee Harris saw snaps for two while Anthony McFarland Jr. was on the field for one.
Additionally, Warren has rotated in on early downs and gotten a handful of series himself. Perhaps that will increase tonight and he will start off one or two more drives.
If there’s a defense to run on, it’s the Raiders. They’re one of the league’s worst run defenses and allowed 183 yards and two scores to the Buffalo Bills in Week Two. Their interior line isn’t particularly strong and they only utilize two linebackers regardless of offensive personnel, making them a target on the ground.
Whether it’s Warren, Harris, or bringing Jerome Bettis out of retirement, the Steelers need to find someone who can consistently pick up yardage. Granted, much of that starts with the blocking up front, it certainly hasn’t been good enough, but Pittsburgh is likely to explore all options to figure a core part of their offense out.
