For the second week in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rushing offense got off to a slow start. The Steelers were able to rebound and defeat the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3. The same could not be said in Week 4 versus the Indianapolis Colts. They finished the game with two rushing touchdowns, yes. But they only had 122 yards on 30 carries. And both of those touchdowns were courtesy of QB Justin Fields.
RB Najee Harris struggled, gaining only 19 yards on 13 carries. He attributed it to stacked boxes and having to overcome free hitters when he carried the ball. He was more effective as a pass catcher out of the backfield with three catches for 54 yards. So there might be some truth to that.
So how does offensive coordinator Arthur Smith fix the issue? He and the Steelers want to run the ball. But they’re getting stuffed, especially early in games. And that’s leading to slow starts.
“It’s okay to play to your identity,” Ray Fittipaldo said on Monday’s episode of the North Shore Drive podcast. “They want to be a physical football team. They want to establish the run first. But sometimes you got to break your tendencies. I mean, this is the second week in a row where defensive coordinators were just run-blitzing their safeties and linebackers in an effort to stop the Steelers’ running game early and it worked.”
Add the instability along the offensive line, and you’ve got a recipe for run-game disaster. The Steelers have three offensive linemen on injured reserve with the news of G James Daniels’ Achilles tear on Monday. G Isaac Seumalo has yet to play this season, so his return will be a big boost.
But the players know something has to change. TE Pat Freiermuth said the team has been emphasizing starting fast in practice but it’s not translating to the field. Smith needs to change something up. Otherwise, defensive coordinators will continue to blitz the run.
Sometimes NFL offenses run to set up the pass. That’s what Smith looks to be doing early in the season with Steelers leading the league in rushing attempts.
But when Fittipaldo talks about breaking tendencies, he means throwing the ball to set up the run. Throw the ball with Harris in the backfield so defenses can’t key on stopping the run. Take deeper shots earlier in the game to force defenses to keep the safeties back. Those are the kinds of adjustments Smith needs to consider making.
If the Steelers can start making bigger plays in the passing game earlier in the game, it should open things for the running game. And Fields is showing continued growth despite losing a fumble against the Colts. Former NFL LB and Super Bowl champion Tedy Bruschi said that Fields proved he can play from behind versus the Colts, something the Steelers have lacked in recent memory. He showed that Smith can call a more aggressive game, and he’ll still make the plays needed.
Perhaps that means the Steelers should be more aggressive from the onset rather than running the ball into the teeth of a run blitz.
