Throughout the history of football, there have been plenty of great 1-2 punches at the running back position. Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside in Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis are the first that come to mid. Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris with the Miami Dolphins. Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Even Jim Brown and Bobby Mitchell with the Cleveland Browns come to mind.
The duo of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren isn’t anywhere close to that standing just yet — if ever — but they do form one of the best duos in the NFL today. At least, according to former NFL running back and NFL Network media member Maurice Jones-Drew, who himself was part of a great RB tandem with Fred Taylor for many years in Jacksonville.
In a piece for NFL.com Wednesday, Harris and Warren ranked No. 3 in the league of the best duos at the RB position behind Miami’s Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane and Detroit’s David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.
“Though this might not be the sexiest pick, the Steelers join the Lions as the only teams with two running backs ranking in the top 25 in rushing yards through Week 13. …Pittsburgh leans on its rushing attack, featuring a true two-back system, with Harris and Warren often swapped in and out by the series,” Jones-Drew writes regarding the Steelers’ duo. “Harris’ numbers aren’t spectacular this season, but he’s the one wearing down the defense for Warren, the more explosive of the two, to feast later on in games.
“The Steelers still currently hold a wild-card spot, but there’s little room for error. With Mitch Trubisky replacing an injured Kenny Pickett at quarterback, expect Pittsburgh to look to Harris and Warren frequently.”
The duo of Harris and Warren is a great combination of Thunder (Harris) and Lightning (Warren). The two work exceptionally well together and complement each other. It’s led to great success for the pairing.
On the season, Harris has rushed for 661 yards and four touchdowns on 159 carries, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Warren has rushed for 601 yards and three touchdowns on 102 carries, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
Surprisingly though, Harris has more explosive runs with 12 20-plus-yard runs on the season.
As Jones-Drew points out, Harris is the one wearing defenses down, and then Warren comes in as the change-of-pace back and can really rip up defenses. Both are very good at what they do, and they fit perfectly what it means to be a Steelers running back: hard-nosed, tough as nails, refusing to go down on first contact.
That duo has helped carry the Steelers’ offense this season. In the last five weeks, the Steelers have rushed for 166, 205, 172, 153 and 130 yards, good for an average of 165.2 yards per game. That’s a testament to the work Harris and Warren are doing running the football.
In that five-week stretch, Warren has two 100-yard games, gaining 129 yards against the Browns in Week 11 and 101 yards in Week 11 against the Green Bay Packers in Week 10. Harris nearly had a 100-yard game in Week 12 against the Cincinnati Bengals but lost a yard on his final carry, finishing with 99 yards on the day.
Much like they did last season, the Steelers have leaned heavily on the run game since the bye week. That’s their clear identity, and it’s clicking. Now, they just need to score more points. With Mitch Trubisky under center for the injured Kenny Pickett, expect more work for Harris and Warren, especially as the Steelers push for the playoffs.
