Building on the successful second half of the 2023 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason moves made one thing very clear: they wanted their offensive identity to be running the football.
After signing OG Isaac Seumalo and drafting two offensive linemen, including first-round OT Broderick Jones, in 2023, the Steelers doubled down on that approach with three of their first five draft picks invested in the offensive line in 2024. They also brought in two mobile quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
Beyond the investments, they raved about the “two-headed monster” of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren that helped the Steelers become the second-best rushing team over the second half of last season.
They also brought in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who has a five-year history across two different franchises of running the football at extremely high rates. Mike Tomlin said it best after the draft, that the Steelers “just wanna roll people.”
The offensive line was expected to need time to jell with multiple young pieces, but they were managing to run fairly well through the first three games and largely accomplished their goal of possessing the football and controlling the pace of the game.
Unfortunately, the rash of injuries along the offensive line and in the running back room are setting this team back with its offensive game plan.
First, it was C Nate Herbig who suffered a season-ending rotator cuff injury. With Zach Frazier on the roster, that injury wasn’t as bad, but it still compromised depth at both center and guard. Then came the pectoral injury for OG Isaac Seumalo. He is likely to return next week, but he still missed the first four games of the season. OT Troy Fautanu was lost for the regular season with a knee injury during practice last ahead of Week 3, and now OG James Daniels is reportedly out for the year with an Achilles tear.
The Steelers had remarkable injury luck along their offensive line the last two seasons. That luck has fully reversed this season, and it is starting to become very worrisome.
Dan Moore Jr. is essentially locked in at left tackle for the season. He has been playing very well, but history tells us that won’t last. Seumalo should return soon but might need some time to get back into football shape. Frazier has been excellent, but the rookie center is just four starts into his NFL career. OG Mason McCormick shows promise but has just one start under his belt. And finally, OT Broderick Jones is now pretty much stuck on the right side, out of his intended left tackle position. His struggles have been well-covered, though he seems to be bouncing back in recent weeks.
As Spencer Anderson said during media availability earlier today, “We have to grow up,” per TribLive’s Joe Rutter on X.
Those five I listed could form a decent enough offensive line as they jell later in the season, but the Steelers invested in the group to be one of the best units on their team.
Then there are the injuries at running back. Jaylen Warren was out for Week 4 with a knee injury. Steelers insider Mark Kaboly speculated it could be a while before we see him return to health. Cordarrelle Patterson was a good option to replace his production, but he suffered an ankle injury against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. That leaves Najee Harris, Aaron Shampklin, and Jonathan Ward as the Steelers’ three healthy running backs, with the latter two on the practice squad.
So what happened when they had a banged-up offensive line and just one part of the committee backfield? Harris rushed for just 19 yards on 13 carries against the No. 32 ranked rushing defense entering the game. Harris said after the game that the guys weren’t getting hands on people that they needed to. Teams are going to continue to pack the box and make Fields beat them with his arm.
One of the reasons why Fields has been successful so far in Pittsburgh is because the Steelers haven’t been asking him to save the offense. He was able to play more of a game manager role and take his shots and use his legs as needed. Now it is looking like those two things might be the only thing the Steelers can do on offense.
We saw what Fields looked like his first three years in Chicago when he was asked to carry the group. It wasn’t pretty.
