The Pittsburgh Steelers saw their running game come to life last Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans as the team rushed for 166 yards in the game. RBs Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris were extremely effective on the ground, looking like how they closed out the season last year when Pittsburgh embraced that run-heavy approach that helped spark their 7-2 run down the stretch.
Harris was asked how the run game was so successful last week against the Titans by the media Wednesday, to which Harris responded that the offensive line played well upfront as well as WR George Pickens doing a great job of taking attention his way and out of the box.
“GP helped,” Harris said about Pickens to the media Wednesday on video from Steelers.com. “He helped out a lot on that, too. They are playing a certain type of defense now that GP kind of minimizing his… kind of helped out the run game also.”
QB Kenny Pickett had a similar sentiment about Pickens and his impact after the game last Thursday, stating that him getting double-teamed in coverage opened things up for WR Diontae Johnson to have a big game as well as opening up the running game because defenses have to be mindful of him winning downfield as a vertical threat.
When it comes to the overall impact in last week’s game against the Titans, Pickens wished he had more of a presence in the passing game than what he did. He was visibly upset after the game as he was held to two catches for -1 yard, sulking on the bench while his teammates celebrated Diontae Johnson’s first touchdown catch in nearly two years. Still, Pickens should be able to take solace in the fact that defenses are giving him the respect he deserves, and his presence out there on the field is directly impacting the running game as well as opening things up for other receivers running routes because defenses see Pickens as the alpha receiver teams need to take away.
You like seeing Harris and Pickett standing up for their teammate and commending him for the impact he does bring to the team, even when he’s not catching passes or scoring touchdowns. Hopefully, Pickens sees this from his teammates and can take pride in that, knowing that he is bringing a positive impact to Pittsburgh’s offense, even if it doesn’t mean that he finishes the game with a gaudy stat line.
