With WR George Pickens a surprise inactive for the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, they had one clear objective: run the ball.
They started the game on the right foot with that goal in mind. Najee Harris carried the ball four times for 32 yards, including a 20-yard explosive run to get the Steelers going on their first scoring drive that ended in a field goal.
That type of start with running the football was by design.
“Week in, week out, we try to do the best we can and have a plan of attack,” OC Arthur Smith said Thursday in response to a question about evolving to stay ahead of opposition film study via a transcript provided by the team. “We wanted to run the football come hell or high water last week. I thought we did.”
Coincidentally, they had the exact same rushing total as the previous time the Steelers played the Browns. They ended the game with 120 rushing yards on both occasions with just one more attempt the second time around. But it still felt different. Harris started the game with a bang and Warren found a rhythm toward the end of the first half that lasted into the second.
It wasn’t a signature performance on the ground like they’ve had a couple times earlier in the season, but 120 total rushing yards is better than about two-thirds of the league on any given week.
Smith then described one of his favorite plays of the game, which was the final third-down conversion by Najee Harris to seal the Steelers’ 10th win of the season. That was a nine-yard run, and there was plenty to like about the play.
The Browns cheated a bunch of players up near the line of scrimmage and the Steelers used their aggressiveness against them. Van Jefferson blocked down and opened up a huge hole for Harris to convert the first down.
“My favorite play is the one that probably sealed it, speaking of Van’s block, Naj knowing when we need to get down, don’t need to get greedy, chase points, chase medals,” Smith said. “We get the victory and don’t have to kick the ball off. That was great to see.”
That run was just after the two-minute warning. The Steelers were up by 13 points, so there wasn’t a huge threat for the Browns to come back. But the Steelers have struggled in end-of-game scenarios to finish with their offense on the field. This was another box checked off on something they are going to need as the road gets narrow in the playoffs.
