Leading up to Sunday’s Week 17 matchup on the road against the Seattle Seahawks, there was a great emphasis on the run game for the Pittsburgh Steelers, especially against the sixth-worst run defense in football.
A challenge was leveled at the Steelers’ offensive line. Boy did the group respond in a big way.
The Steelers ran for 202 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 4.4 yards per carry and putting the game away for good on the ground late, leading to a 30-23 win over the Seahawks, keeping the playoff hopes alive. Not to mention, the Steelers’ offensive line held up well in pass protection, too, giving Mason Rudolph plenty of time to make plays down the field in the passing game, leading to a second straight 30-point output from the offense.
“I thought the offensive line provided the wave that we rode. We talked all week about trying to conquer the environment and winning the line of scrimmage being a major component of it. And they embraced that challenge, man,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said to reporters, according to video via Steelers.com. “And I thought they kind of controlled the climate, made third downs manageable ones, minimized possession downs, minimized the crowd component of it. And so, just thankful for that.”
The line certainly provided the wave that the offense rode. They set the tone early in the game with the way they created a ton of displacement, moving guys off the spot, helping the Steelers establish a run game early on.
That fast start offensively was a sign of things to come as the group just got better and better as the game progressed. The linemen opened up sizable holes for Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, and it helped that the dynamic duo really wore down the Seahawks’ defense, too, generating a ton of yards after contact, breaking a bunch of tackles and dishing out serious punishment over and over again.
That’s that wave Tomlin is talking about. With the offensive linemen setting the tone, rolling right along, everyone else around them picked up the slack and played well. It led to a complete performance from the Steelers’ offense, which generated 468 yards of total offense in the 30-23 win, the best showing the Steelers have had in years offensively.
It couldn’t have come at a better time, either.
For their efforts up front on the day, the Steelers’ offensive line received the game ball after the win, too, Harris revealed during his press conference.
Heck of a day for a group that’s faced plenty of criticism this season, but is saving some of its best ball for last.
