The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need to be answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Will the ground game thrive two games in a row?
It used to be that the Steelers’ offense possessed a ground-and-pound identity. That was long ago. Even when they have had a good running game in the more recent past, it still served as a supplementary function to the passing game.
Granted, that tends to happen when a team has a franchise quarterback. I can’t think of too many instances in recent decades during which a franchise quarterback was the beneficiary of a great running game while he was at his peak—perhaps John Elway at the end of his career.
The Steelers, however, don’t have a franchise quarterback right now, though they have a quarterback in Kenny Pickett who they hope will become one. Until he proves to be, they are going to need more from the running back position to achieve consistent success.
To that end, they had their best running game of the season last time out against the Tennessee Titans, rushing for 166 yards. Najee Harris had 69 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, while Jaylen Warren added 88 on 11 carries. WR Calvin Austin III added another 10 yards on top of that.
The question is, can they do it again? The Green Bay Packers have been run at heavily, but have done better than most in handling it. They rank in the top half of the league in run-defense efficiency. NT Kenny Clark is questionable for the game but practiced on a limited basis all week.
One key variable is Broderick Jones as the new starting RT. He was a boost to the run game, and his ability to pull and get out in space opens up another potential dimension. If he can continue to grow and they run behind him, that would be extremely helpful in maintaining a more consistently successful run game.
