Ahead of their Week 13 game against the Arizona Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ coordinators were available for their weekly Thursday media availability. Offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner talked about the benefit and the dynamic of having two running backs that are both excelling in their own right.
“Both those guys got skill sets to help us win,” Faulkner said in a video posted by Mark Kaboly of The Athletic on X. “I think we all see that in watching the game. I don’t see any head-to-head, or I don’t see them contradicting each other. I see them complementing each other. I think they look at it the same way, and we need that to win.”
The story all season has been Jaylen Warren pushing Najee Harris for more playing time. With Harris being a former first-round draft pick and Warren going undrafted, it could be easy for there to be hard feelings between the two of them. Faulkner confirmed here that they work well together and don’t see it the way the media has been trying to frame it.
It truly has turned into a committee backfield. Since Warren started getting more involved four weeks ago, he has 48 carries for 367 yards while Harris has 59 carries for 285 yards. One game, Warren will lead the way in touches and yards and the next it will be back to Harris. Head coach Mike Tomlin discussed the challenge this presents to opposing defenses in his Tuesday press conference.
Usually in committee backfields, one guy will be more of an inside runner while the other is an outside runner, or one is more of a third-down pass catcher. For the Steelers, both backs can do it all, which means they can run the entire playbook with either back. They aren’t limited to certain plays with Warren versus other plays with Harris. This keeps defenses on their toes and allows both backs to be fresh throughout the game.
For the season, Warren has 542 yards and three touchdowns on 93 attempts. Harris, in comparison, has 598 yards and four touchdowns on 143 attempts. To be fair, Harris was the primary back through the opening stretch of the season when the offensive line was still gelling and figuring out personnel and the offense as a whole was anemic.
The rushing attack has really come on strong over the last month since the Steelers went to a committee backfield, going over 150 yards in each game and even topping the 200-yard mark against the Green Bay Packers. With the defense tightening up, and the passing attack starting to come along, the Steelers are gearing up for the final third of the season with an excellent shot at making the playoffs.
