The Pittsburgh Steelers did not dominate on the ground Sunday in Atlanta, but they did commit to it. They attempted 41 rushes in all, a number they hit only once all last season, compiling 137 yards. They only averaged 3.3 yards and did not find the end zone, but it established a tone and personality. And it wore the Atlanta Falcons down, even if they didn’t end the game running well.
“Absolutely”, the Steelers’ run game wore the Falcons down, LG Spencer Anderson said, via Dale Lolley for the Steelers’ website. “They were kind of tired. Some things were said like, ‘Man, can we get a pass play?’. Us as o-linemen were like, no, let’s just keep punishing them. I don’t know how much we had on the ground, but we executed our game plan pretty well”.
The fact that they ran as well and as often as they did is commendable, considering the fact that the Steelers have a new offense that included, for this game, two offensive linemen making their first NFL start. Among them was Anderson, filling in for Isaac Seumalo. Next to him was rookie C Zach Frazier, who did a commendable job. The rest of the lineup did remain status quo from last season, though we’ll see for how long.
The Steelers wanted to establish a physical, run-heavy identity on offense, one of the reasons they hired Arthur Smith. In his debut as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator, they ran the ball over 60 percent of the time. That doesn’t factor in Justin Fields’ scrambles on busted passing plays, but the ratio is still well above 1-to-1.
Not only did the Steelers run the ball frequently, they also deployed run personnel frequently. According to our charting, they used multiple tight ends on nearly 60 percent of their plays. And they used all of their tight ends, all of whom short of Connor Heyward even caught a pass.
While the Steelers showcased their intended identity against the Falcons, they are still working on establishing it. They don’t quite look like one of the premier rushing offenses just yet, but that may come in time.
The key to that more than anything is the offensive line growing, which should feature two new starters. Seumalo should return to the lineup in a week or two, which is the easy part of the equation. The more complicated variable is rookie first-round pick Troy Fautanu, who should start at right tackle.
When and how the Steelers install Fautanu into the starting lineup, I don’t think anybody knows. Under ideal circumstances, he would have started the opener with Broderick Jones moving to left tackle. Instead, Dan Moore Jr. is still at left tackle with Jones manning the right side.
Another reason for optimism is Jaylen Warren is still overcoming a minor injury from the preseason. He did carry the ball seven times against the Falcons with two receptions, but he is not at full strength. Najee Harris shouldered the load with 20 carries while QB Justin Fields mustered 14. That includes a combination of designed runs, options, and scrambles, totaling 57 yards.
George Pickens, by the way, lost 10 yards on his lone attempt, which drags down the number. The Steelers still only averaged 3.7 yards without it, but it does look a little better. They will have to do better next week against the Denver Broncos though.
