Over and over again Sunday afternoon on the road against the Seattle Seahawks, the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to do largely whatever they wanted to do in the run game.
Whether it was Najee Harris or Jaylen Warren, the Steelers had great success taking it to the Seattle defense. The offensive linemen came into the game with a challenge to control the line of scrimmage and the environment in the Pacific Northwest, and they certainly did that in a major way, helping the Steelers rush for 202 yards and three touchdowns in one of the more dominant rushing displays the franchise has seen in some time.
It wasn’t just the offensive line though. The tight end group, which just a few short weeks ago was eviscerated by former Steelers running back Merril Hoge for looking like “two turtles humping” when trying to block, had a strong game overall. Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington and Connor Heyward helped the Steelers thrive in 13 personnel on Sunday, more than holding their own as blockers and helping pave the way for Harris and Warren.
Even Rodney Williams had some success as a blocker when seeing some offensive snaps.
According to Pro Football Focus, Heyward graded out as the best blocker among the tight ends against the Seahawks at a 79.9 overall. Williams received a 59.5 grade, while Freiermuth checked in at 52.5 overall as a blocker. Washington was arguably the most impactful blocker among the tight ends for the Steelers, but he had the lowest grade as a blocker at just 47.2 overall.
Despite the lower grades, the Steelers’ tight ends were very strong in the run game. They were key in helping the Steelers dominate on the ground.
Let’s dive into the film room.
Early on, Washington was throwing his weight around, moving people off the ball time and time again.
Here on an early Harris run, Washington completely washes a defender down inside, clearing a path for guard Isaac Seumalo pulling across the formation and helping spring Harris. He needs to do a better job of not letting the defender shoot inside initially, but it’s a great recovery from the rookie, who runs his defender out of the play.
Later in the first quarter, Washington again shows off his strength, collapsing one side of the formation on a down block.
Not the best rep from Williams, who gets bullied at the point of attack, but Washington is there to clean it up and opens up a lane for Harris to hit.
That’s a good finish from Washington as he drives his feet and buries the edge defender, giving Harris a nice lane to the second level. Washington, at times, looks like an offensive lineman. He has some good run fits when blocking, runs his feet and really looks to finish.
That was instilled in him at Georgia, and it shows up in the NFL.
Really liked this rep from Freiermuth working to the second level and sealing off Devin Bush on the Harris run.
Freiermuth can be a bit too passive working to the second level at times, but he’s responded well to the criticism in recent weeks regarding his blocking and is really starting to improve in that area. Sunday was a clear example of that.
Great job of getting to the second level here and getting an angle on Bush, sealing him off and allowing Harris to run right off his backside.
The blocking on Warren’s 18-yard touchdown run was pristine, especially from the tight ends.
Outstanding job by Freiermuth getting his head across on the slanting defensive lineman, running his feet and taking him to the second level, clearing a huge lane behind him.
Both Washington and Heyward hook their defenders as well, which allows Dan Moore Jr. to get to the second level and take out Bush, leading to Warren racing untouched into the end zone. That’s one of the better blocks of Freiermuth’s career, especially with his hand in the dirt.
Nice job here by Heyward, kicking out the defender, creating a lane off his backside.
He’s not the biggest or the strongest, but he competes hard and has improved as a blocker all season. This was another example of that. He’s slightly overmatched by the edge defender, but he competes hard and leans heavily into proper technique and body placement, putting himself between the defender and his running back, landing a strong block to spring Harris.
This was the best play of the day though from all three tight ends, and it’s not close.
Look at the effort there from the trio of tight ends, doing everything possible to clear a lane for Harris.
When that lane doesn’t materialize, they do the next best thing, and help push Harris into the end zone.
Tremendous effort, which matched exactly what the tight ends did all game. The group was challenged just a few weeks ago and had to be embarrassed by the terminology Hoge used. To their credit, they’ve let their play do the talking on the field, which has shown major improvements from a blocking perspective.
They came up big for the Steelers in the win over the Seahawks. They’ll need to do so again Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens.
