The Pittsburgh Steelers appear to be hitting their stride on offense at the right time with six games left to go in the regular season. A large part of that has been the improved play of their running game, going from one of the most inefficient units in football to start the season to one of the league’s best in the last month. The play of RBs Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris as well as the improved play of the offensive line have fueled plenty of strong performances in the last month by the dynamic duo in the backfield.
Marcas Grant of NFL.com seems to think so as well, going so far as to predict that both Warren and Harris with top 80 scrimmage yards as his bold prediction for Week 13 when the Steelers play the Arizona Cardinals.
“The Steelers have found an offense! Huzzah!” Grant wrote. “In the wake of Matt Canada’s release, it looks like Pittsburgh has figured some things out. That’s good news for both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, who have been inconsistent — to say the least — in 2023. One thing that has been consistent is Arizona’s inability to stop running backs. A bad defense and a new-look offense should conspire to give both Harris and Warren big days amounting to at least 80 scrimmage yards apiece.”
The 2-10 Cardinals have struggled both offensively and defensively as they undergo a rebuild in their first year of under HC Jonathan Gannon. The run defense for Arizona has particularly struggled in 2023, ranking 30th in the league as they have surrendered 140 rushing yards per game. Pittsburgh has averaged 174 rushing yards per game over its last four games, seeing Warren, the former undrafted free agent, take the league by storm. He has been one of the most efficient runners in football this season when it comes to yards per carry and missed tackles forced. The second-year back currently has 93 carries for 542 yards (5.8 YPC) and three touchdowns along with 37 receptions for 247 yards on the year.
Harris was playing second fiddle to Warren until last week when the third-year back out of Alabama had his best performance of the season, carrying the ball 15 times for 99 yards and a score against the Cincinnati Bengals. Harris has had strong performances this season as well against the Texans, Titans, and Packers, being more of a power back who excels between the tackles as well in short-yardage situations and can be Pittsburgh’s thunder to Warren’s lightning.
With both Harris and Warren playing well and Arizona’s vulnerable defense on deck, Grant’s prediction may not be so bold, especially if the Steelers can get out to an early lead on Sunday. They will want to control the clock and establish long, effective drives with their running game, looking to give their defense a rest on the sidelines.
Plenty of teams have shown that they can run on the Cardinals this season, including a Los Angeles Rams squad that put up 228 rushing yards last week on them. Pittsburgh should get close to hitting its rushing average per game the past month this coming weekend, likely meaning that both Harris and Warren hit the 80 scrimmage-yard threshold unless one back has a stellar performance.
