The Pittsburgh Steelers have had precisely two games since the start of last season in which they had a significant double-headed rushing attack producing at a proficient level. One of those games was the 2022 rematch against the Baltimore Ravens. The other one was last night. And it seemed almost to be an epiphany for head coach Mike Tomlin.
The Steelers rushed for 166 yards as a team on 30 carries, averaging 5.5 yards per, and nearly all of that came from their running backs. Najee Harris rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts, while Jaylen Warren had a career-high 88 yards on 11 carries, the two combining for 157 yards on 27 rushes.
“Really, tonight was probably our first time to take a look at it because we had a more fluid start”, Tomlin said after the game when he was asked about if he likes what he sees in the one-two punch out of the backfield, via the team’s website. “And so, yes, I do. I do”.
The way that he delivered the second half of that answer, frankly, felt to me like someone who was realizing as he was saying it how significant it was. The ground game had been a slog for most of the season, which made it difficult for them to paint a clearer picture of how it should look.
He got to see last night what the running game could be like at a more proficient level against the Tennessee Titans, and I would gather that he would love to see more of it going forward. But Tomlin knows it’s not something you can force, but rather is dictated by game circumstances.
“I thought we converted some third downs earlier. We’ve been talking about it. You convert possession downs, you get more snaps”, he said. “When you’re converting third downs, you’re getting more snap opportunities, and that usually leads to the attrition component of play, and really that’s kind of representative of the run game”.
Pittsburgh had been particularly bad on third down coming out of the bye week, but that was not an issue last night. They converted on 6 of their 12 opportunities and finished the game with 10 total first downs via the run. While they still managed three negative runs—all by Harris, all on first down—the running game was finally something they could rely on.
It was just the second game with their two backs together in which each rushed for at least 50 yards in the same game. The first was the Baltimore Ravens game near the end of last season. Harris rushed for 111 yards and Warren had 76.
This was the first time since then that they had come close to such a performance. The Steelers had the opportunity to utilize both backs and even make attempts to cater to their particular strengths, allowing each to build up steam. It should be a blueprint moving forward.
