Since Pittsburgh Steelers rookie tackle Broderick Jones was inserted into the right tackle spot in Week Nine against the Tennessee Titans, the Steelers’ run game has taken off. Since Week Nine, Pittsburgh is averaging 174 rushing yards per game, compared to 79.7 rushing yards per game beforehand. Jones has been a Godsend to this offensive line as the Steelers are finally getting to play the football they want to play; smash-mouth football with a suffocating defense.
The emergence of the run game for Pittsburgh has coincided with a 3-1 record since Week Nine and an offensive explosion of over 400 yards for the first time since 2020 last week. The passing game finally woke up as QB Kenny Pickett threw for 278 yards and looked arguably the best he has in his career.
Jones joined the WDVE Morning Show yesterday and spoke about how the Steelers’ success in running the football makes it easier for the whole offense.
“You have to be able to run the football ’cause it opens up everything and makes the game easier for you,” Jones said. “Being able to run the football makes them [the defense] want to load the box which makes it easier to throw the ball over top of their heads. I feel like, just with our o-line, we try and lean on that because we have great backs, we have a great quarterback in Kenny.”
Similar to the end of last season, the Steelers’ ability to run the football is coinciding with winning football. After the bye week last season, Pittsburgh’s running game took off, and the team went 7-2 down the stretch. Not to mention, the quarterback play looked better even if it wasn’t great. While it is still early to determine if Pickett will make a big improvement down the stretch, running the football should make life easier.
As shown in last week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers’ strong running game made linebackers Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt have to respect the run, allowing Pickett to hit seam passes to TE Pat Freiermuth multiple times as the passing game looked explosive and modern.
There is still a long way to go for this offense as 16 points is not enough, but the Steelers have shown they can win games with a strong run game and a suffocating defense. The next step is a strong passing game to make Pittsburgh a real threat. As shown last week, the potential is there, they just have to execute consistently. The good news is that having such an effective running game will only make it easier for Pickett.
