The Steelers rushed for 295 yards on 69 attempts this preseason, though the bulk of that favored late-game rushing efforts. Jaylen Warren barely played, and Kenneth Gainwell didn’t play much more. Kaleb Johnson saw the most playing time of those who will make the roster, and improved in each game. On the whole, though, it’s hard to feel great about this team’s ability to run the ball.
Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette certainly doesn’t. Discussing the Steelers’ run game on 93.7 The Fan on Friday, he expressed concern that patience will be required. “I’m not terribly confident, and there’s no reason to be after watching the preseason”, he said.
In the first preseason game, the Steelers totaled just 66 rushing yards on 25 attempts. Bottom-string RB Lew Nichols accounted for 31 of those yards in the fourth quarter. Johnson, in his NFL debut, managed just 20 yards on eight attempts. With 130 yards the following week, they did show progress. Johnson rushed for 50 yards on 11 attempts, Nichols accounting for 42 on three runs. In the finale, Pittsburgh totaled 99 yards on 18 attempts. Jaylen Warren struggled, but the other backs ran well. Trey Sermon rushed for 39 yards on four carries, 30 on one attempt.
“I suppose it was a little bit better”, Fittipaldo said of the Steelers’ run game in the finale, but cited penalties as a concern. “They had some decent runs, but penalties called them back, and that’s part of it. Pat Freiermuth has to get his hand inside there. He can’t be holding on the shoulder pads there”.
A holding call on the first play from scrimmage wiped out a six-yard run by Warren. A few plays later, the Steelers got the run going with Gainwell picking up 24. That was the Freiermuth penalty, which resulted in a loss of eight. In the third quarter, Robert Woods was flagged for holding on a 10-yard run by Sermon. A few plays later, Ryan McCollum drew a hold on a Skylar Thompson scramble. Four holds on four runs and three designed runs are obviously not great.
Fittipaldo chalked it up at least in part to rust. “That comes with him playing for the first time”, he said of the Steelers’ hiccups in the run game. “Like Jaylen Warren fumbling, that comes with playing for the first time. I guess in that way it was good that those guys were able to knock a little bit of rust off, and they’ll have time to get ready for the season. But I wasn’t really impressed with the starting offense at all last night”.
Of course, the Steelers still held out some key starters, like QB Aaron Rodgers and WR DK Metcalf. WR Calvin Austin III also hasn’t played, and even WR Roman Wilson didn’t play much. But Warren and Freiermuth definitely didn’t look sharp. If it had not been for the penalties, perhaps the Steelers’ run game might have shown some flash. If they can do that cleanly, there may be something there. But you have to show that first, and at this point, they haven’t.
