The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a disappointing setback on the road to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, losing 13-10 in a low-scoring affair where the offense continued to struggle. QB Kenny Pickett threw for only 106 yards as Cleveland’s defense swarmed the young quarterback, making life hard on him and the passing game to get anything going throughout the contest.
However, RB Jaylen Warren managed to keep Pittsburgh afloat with a valiant performance. He totaled 145 yards from scrimmage on just 12 touches, including a 74-yard touchdown run to open the second half and breathe life into Pittsburgh after a dismal first half.
Warren spoke to the media in the locker room following the game and broke down his touchdown run. He said that the blocking in front of him was executed to perfection to get him singled up on one defender with the chance to take it the distance.
“Receiver blocking the perimeter…made one guy miss, and like I said, it was the blockers,” Warren said to the media on video from Steelers.com. “The blockers made it happen. I figured like, it’s a momentum play. Anyone could have done it would’ve pumped all of us up.”
When you watch the play, you see Warren take a pitch from quarterback Kenny Pickett off right tackle on a 2nd and 9 from Pittsburgh’s own 26-yard line. Warren makes Cleveland cornerback Greg Newsome II miss in the hole and picks up big blocks from TEs Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington on the outside. Both double team EDGE Za’Darius Smith while RT Broderick Jones runs in the way of CB Denzel Ward. C Mason Cole gets a key block on LB Sione Takitaki to get Warren to the second level with WR Miles Boykin running with him, cutting off Ward from chasing him down as Warren reaches the end zone for the 74-yard house call.
It was one of Pittsburgh’s two explosive plays on offense in the game with both coming from Warren as he had another 21-yard carry on the day. Warren has been red hot the last three weeks for Pittsburgh, rushing for over 88 yards in all three contests. Adding an element of speed and burst to the backfield, he has the juice to hit the hole fast and take it the distance like we saw on his touchdown run.
Warren can try to undersell his splash play, stating that anyone could’ve done it and would’ve gotten the momentum to swing in Pittsburgh’s favor. The reality is that Warren needed to be the guy to do it as the passing game has been dreadful the last couple of weeks as Pickett can seem to find any sort of consistency. Pickett lobbied for Warren to see more usage as a runner and receiver following the game based on the spark that he provides the offense. Given what we saw from the second-year former UDFA today, it’s safe to say that Warren should continue to see his usage increased as the Steelers look to find some sort of offensive identity down the stretch.
