Even though the Pittsburgh Steelers have not been overly successful in running the football this season, it is still their identity. The Jacksonville Jaguars will present a challenge this week in letting the Steelers play their brand of football as they come to Acrisure Stadium boasting the fourth-best run defense in the NFL, allowing only 80.6 yards per game.
However, the Jaguars’ run defense is not impenetrable. If there is a weak spot in their run defense it is running between the tackles. Jacksonville allows four yards per carry in between the tackles compared to 3.6 yards per carry outside the tackles. What that means is tomorrow the Jaguars may see a healthy dose of Steelers’ RB Najee Harris.
Harris and RB Jaylen Warren are a great duo for the Steelers and each bring something different. Warren is a bowling ball and has the speed to get to the outside and hit chunk plays, while Harris is more of a battering ram up the middle who will try and wear teams down. The stats show Harris is much more effective in between the tackles than Warren. Harris is averaging 4.1 yards per carry on inside runs, while Warren is only averaging 3.3 yards per carry.
Pittsburgh won’t just avoid the outside when running, and Warren should certainly see carries, but if Pittsburgh wants to be effective on the ground, feeding Harris the ball on runs between the tackles is the way to go. Harris is not the most electrifying runner, but he more often than not can get a few yards when running the ball. This season, Harris is averaging 2.1 yards after contact which is another reason why he is more effective than Warren who is only averaging 1.4.
When rushing between the tackles, a running back is just naturally going to face more contract and likely be hit earlier, and Harris’ ability to break tackles makes him the more effective runner in those situations. And with how well Jacksonville is with not allowing outside runs from getting it is going to make life difficult for Warren. Warren is super effective running outside, averaging an impressive 4.6 yards per carry. With how effective he is, it would be smart for offensive coordinator Matt Canada to give him some outside runs, but the Steelers can’t rely on that being the way to beat Jacksonville.
Right now, the Steelers still have to be a run-first team as QB Kenny Pickett is not ready yet to throw 35-plus times and lead his team to a victory. He needs to be able to play off the run game, and certain matchups will dictate who will likely see the bulk of the carries. Again a very strong run defense, Pittsburgh needs to take advantage of the weaker aspect and that means running inside with Harris.
It is important to note, though, that this week the Jaguars get DT DaVon Hamilton back who is a good run stuffer. Last season, PFF gave Hamilton 69.4 run defense grade as he made 56 tackles and five tackles for a loss. Hamilton is coming off injured reserve and will be playing his first game this season tomorrow so that could impact how well the Jaguars run defense in the middle plays. Last season, with a healthy Hamilton, Jacksonville allowed 3.9 yards per carry on inside runs, so he does have an impact on the Jaguars’ run defense.
With Harris being the better runner on carries between the tackles, and the Jaguars’ soft spot in their run defense being inside runs, Harris should be in for a day where he sees the bulk of the carries. Harris had one of his better games last weekend against the Los Angeles Rams, carrying the ball 14 times for 53 yards and a touchdown, so he will be looking to build on that and help the Steelers improve to 5-2 tomorrow afternoon.
