With the expectation for very bad weather in the forecast for Sunday’s projected Wildcard game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, the expectations have understandably been lowered. The total over/under for points scored has plummeted as the odds of a pass-averse wind system rise.
Both teams, accordingly, are expected to run the ball. But that’s what the Steelers want to do and have been doing. “Like Coach [Mike Tomlin] always says, weather doesn’t dictate running the ball”, RT Broderick Jones told reporters on Friday, via the team’s website. “If we’re able to run the ball at an efficient pace, just keep that going.”
“I could see us just dominating up front and just trying our best to do what we can to keep that pace rolling for us, staying on track with the football and not getting behind the chains”.
The Steelers have rushed for over 100 yards in three straight games to close out the season, twice over 150 yards. They finished 13th in the league in rushing, just crossing the 2,000-yard barrier, but they have been one of the most effective and prolific rushing offenses since about the middle of the season.
“We pride ourselves on running the ball, so any chance we get, we want to run the football”, Jones insisted, emphasizing the need to set a tone early. “It’s really important, especially in the conditions and all the talks about the weather and how bad it’s gonna be. That’s gonna be the big emphasis of the game, just setting the tone early running the football, being physical”.
The run game took off roughly around the time of Jones’ installation into the starting lineup at right tackle in Week Nine. Since then, they’ve put up 100-plus rushing yards in nine of 11 games, including six games of 150-plus yards.
RB Najee Harris finished the season with 1,035 rushing yards, the third season in a row to start his career to hit quadruple figures, the first player in team history to ever do that. He set a career-high with eight rushing touchdowns and also finished above 4.0 yards per carry for the first time.
Likewise, RB Jaylen Warren proved a highly effective 1B, rushing for 784 yards on only 149 attempts with four rushing touchdowns. He also caught 61 passes for another 370 yards, their go-to target on 3rd-and-long downs.
Notably, much of this has been generated by the two backs themselves. Both of them finished among the NFL’s most elusive ball-carriers, according to Pro Football Focus. Warren finished with 53 forced missed tackles on runs, Harris 52. Warren also forced 10 missed tackles on receptions and had the highest elusive rating in the league (Harris was 11th overall and finished fourth in the NFL in yards after contact).
As far as the blocking from the offensive line goes, the issue has been consistency. LG Isaac Seumalo has rounded into their most stable player, particularly from a physicality angle. James Daniels is not as physical but has proven reliable after a shaky start. Jones has the highest potential of all but has had his rookie moments. When he’s on, he’s as physical a lineman as they’ve had since Willie Colon.
