The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the season with a very clear identity in mind. They wanted to be able to run the football. OC Arthur Smith, QB Justin Fields, and a heavy investment in the offensive line suggested they would be able to build off their 2023 success, but that hasn’t been the case so far. The Steelers’ run game has not been operating at a high level.
At a glance, it may look like things are going okay. They have the 10th-most rushing yards in the league with 128.5 per game, but additional context is needed. They are tied for the most rushing attempts per game, which makes them the eighth-worst rushing offense in terms of efficiency.
Teams with mobile quarterbacks like the Steelers naturally have inflated rushing totals, but if you take out Fields’ 38 attempts for 145 yards, the Steelers’ production coming from the running back position leaves a lot to be desired. Just look at Najee Harris’ 13 attempts for 19 yards against the Indianapolis Colts.
Ryan Clark sees an opportunity for the upcoming game against the Dallas Cowboys to get them back on track.
“Arthur Smith going to run that thing,” Clark said via ESPN’s NFL Live. “Arthur Smith is gonna walk into the stadium calling runs, and he is probably gonna walk out calling the exact same runs. This is an opportunity…After watching what happened with the Baltimore Ravens, I believe that Justin Fields will be involved with the run game [and] Najee [Harris]. Arthur Smith understands the way that they can be physical up front. And this is sort of an opportunity for this run game to start to feel itself.”
The Colts were previously the worst rushing offense in terms of yards allowed per game entering Week 4, but the Steelers had very little success. According to Warren Sharp on X, the Steelers have faced the No. 1 toughest schedule against the run so far through the first four weeks. The Cowboys are the No. 27 rushing defense per his analytics.
The next five games actually present a great opportunity with multiple rushing defenses at or near the bottom of the league. The Cowboys in particular should be pretty soft up front with Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Sam Williams, and Jordan Phillips all unavailable.
With Isaac Seumalo returning to the lineup and Mason McCormick having a little more experience under his belt from the last two weeks, hopefully this can be a get-right game for the Steelers’ run game.
