The Pittsburgh Steelers’ rushing attack has been inconsistent this season, especially in recent weeks. The Steelers ran for just 56 yards in their Week 15 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and their issues on the ground usually come when they can’t get going early. If they start slow on the ground, they usually can’t find sustained success throughout the game. Speaking to the media today, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith compared the ground game to an “old pickup truck” that needs to crank the engine to get going.
“We’re like an old pickup truck,” OC Arthur Smith told reporters today via 93.7 The Fan on Twitter, “We’ll run well, we’re pretty damn good, and the longer you get the thing in drive, sometimes it just takes a little while to crank the engine and we gotta find a way to get some jumper cables.”
Smith said sometimes the Steelers plod along before they’re able to get going.
“I’m not a mechanic, maybe somebody around here is. We’re like an old pickup truck sometimes where we just plod along and then we get going and we have some really good drives and play some explosive football,” he said via transcript provided by the team.
Smith also said the team’s issues starting slow aren’t always caused by the same thing, which makes them more difficult to fix.
“Sadly, it’s been like popcorn. The easy thing is if you identify a problem and it’s the same problem every time,” Smith said via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Twitter.
Calling the ground game an old pickup truck is a little bit of a wonky analogy because when one starts to get going, it could sputter and die again. But the point Arthur Smith’s making about the Steelers needing to find a way to jump-start the ground game and doing so early is valid, and it’s one of the bigger reasons why the offense struggled against the Eagles. The Steelers weren’t converting on early downs because they couldn’t run the ball, and the issues last week were really a byproduct of Smith’s game plan.
The Steelers have to adapt, especially on the ground. Coming out in heavy sets and running into Philadelphia’s defensive front, which features some talented run defenders in Milton Williams, Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, just didn’t work. The jumper cables the Steelers need to find will come if they adapt their game plan to their opponent and recognize they can’t do the same thing over and over if it isn’t working. Najee Harris ran just six times for 14 yards, and no one else had success on the ground in Philadelphia.
When the Steelers are humming on offense, it’s because they’re getting consistent yards on the ground and putting themselves in a position to move the sticks and retain possession. They had the ball for just 20:08 against the Eagles, and that’s the type of performance that simply can’t happen again. For the Steelers to win against contenders late in the season and in the playoffs, they have to establish the run and win the possession battle, and Smith has to find a way going forward to make that to happen.
While it might not just be one problem plaguing the run game at times, it was clear against Philadelphia that Arthur Smith’s game plan was the issue, and working to establish the run early needs to be a priority going forward.
