A big part of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive identity is the run game. And RB Najee Harris has received the lion’s share of the carries this season with 251. RB Jaylen Warren has received a little less than half that number with 114.
But recently Warren has seen an uptick in usage. In the last two weeks, he has seen double-digit carries (only three such games in the previous 14). He has also caught a season-high five passes in each of those games. And head coach Mike Tomlin has praised Warren for his performances recently.
On the flip side, Harris’ carries have declined, including only nine rushes against the Baltimore Ravens. Is this a sign that the Steelers’ running back order has shifted?
“Jaylen’s been a real good hot hand for us of late,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Friday on the Mike Tomlin Show. “But we have every intention to utilize ’em both. The balance, or the split of the work, is determined week to week on a myriad of variables.”
That honestly might just be a fancy way of saying the Steelers are riding the hot hand at running back. Whoever is producing at a higher level gets more carries. And that makes all the sense in the world.
But it might also be a matchup-based approach. Against some teams, perhaps the Steelers want to punish them up front. So Harris may receive more carries. Against a team with a smaller defense, perhaps Warren will get more carries and more touches overall.
But there are times where the Steelers simply aren’t running the ball as much as you’d expect. For a large part of the season, the Steelers ran the ball more than any other team. But in recent weeks, the Steelers have fallen to third in terms of rushing attempts on the season.
Tomlin says that the offense needs to improve in one specific area to boost the opportunities in the run game.
“For us, converting third downs, particularly early on, is the most significant component of the discussion,” Tomlin said. “Because converting third downs buys you a new set of downs, which buys you more snaps. And in terms of running the ball, and particularly dividing the run up between two people, snaps is everything.”
It was only three games ago that the Steelers had their lowest rushing output. Against the Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers only managed 57 yards on the ground. It was only the second time all season they did not hit the 100-yard mark. And to speak to Tomlin’s point, the Steelers were 3-of-10 on third-down conversions in that loss.
The Steelers need to get better in that regard if either Jaylen Warren or Najee Harris are going to have a major impact on the ground. The Steelers are converting 39.8 percent of their third-down opportunities, 13th-best in the league. But Tomlin believes that converting third downs earlier in the game will mean more snaps for the running backs.
And that might just be what the Steelers need in general. The more time they spend on the field, the better their chances will be against teams with high-powered offenses. And the more we get to see Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren making plays.
