The Pittsburgh Steelers had their best rushing output of the season in their Week Nine win over the Tennessee Titans, as taking away their one kneel down, they ran the ball 29 times for 167 yards. Both RBs Najee Harris (69 yards) and Jaylen Warren (85 yards) ran well, and OT Dan Moore Jr. said it’s a byproduct of the Steelers simplifying their run game to what’s working.
“Just kind of just narrowing down our list of runs and kind of getting to our bread and butter and just really just pounding that and dressing it up to make it look a little bit different,” Moore said via video by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Steelers ran an even number of zone and gap runs last Thursday, as they had 13 zone runs and 13 gap runs between Warren and Harris, with Harris running eight of each and Warren running five of each. But the Steelers are clearly working on narrowing their playbook down and getting into what’s really working.
During the bye week, both Harris and C Mason Cole had a meeting with Matt Canada to talk about the run game, and while it’s natural to pivot more towards what’s working as the season goes on, that meeting probably helped the Steelers really focus on what they wanted to work on and what sort of runs worked best from both the offensive line and the running back perspective.
The Steelers took off last season after their bye thanks to their emphasis on the run game. While they ran the ball poorly in a Week Eight loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, last Thursday’s performance could be a sign the run game is turning around. With a matchup against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, the Steelers are going to be looking to continue that momentum and make the run game a key and effective piece of their offense.
It’s especially important with QB Kenny Pickett not playing consistently well enough to rely on the passing attack, and with both Harris and Warren more than capable of carrying the load, it’s a strategy that Pittsburgh will need to rely on to move the ball on offense. With eight games under their belt, the Steelers know what they’re good at, and they’re going to keep running those concepts as long as they keep working.
It’s not as if they’re coming out in the same formation and running the same plays, as Moore talked about the importance of dressing things up pre-snap to make it look a little bit different. As the season progresses and defenses continue to wear down each week as the toll of the season builds, it’s going to be important to be a team that can run the ball effectively. By narrowing their playbook down into what actually works in the run game, the Steelers could take a step forward in that department and help them continue their push for a playoff berth.
Watch the full interview with Moore below.
