The Pittsburgh Steelers have their work cut out for them if they plan on continuing to be a run-first football team. If training camp is any indication, that isn’t coming so naturally to them with some lackluster days since the pads came on.
“The offense had a hell of a time running the ball against this defense; whether it was Jaylen Warren, Kaleb Johnson, Kenneth Gainwell, or Trey Sermon, it just wasn’t happening on Sunday,” Mark Kaboly wrote on X. “It’s pretty much been that way for the majority of camp. Don’t get me wrong, they have made some plays in the running game but have been bogged down more than you would like to see, and that’s concerning.”
On one hand, the defense showing signs of improvement again the run is a positive development. But 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers is going to need a run game to balance out the offense, and that hasn’t started well at camp.
In two Seven Shots drills yesterday, the offense only managed to score twice. A 2-12 record in that drill is about as bad as it gets.
Mike Tomlin told SiriusXM last Friday that the “elephant in the room” is the development of an offensive line the Steelers spent the last few years investing high draft picks in. To be fair, Broderick Jones and Isaac Seumalo have barely been able to practice with the team in padded practices so far due to injuries.
This unit was always going to need time to jell, but camp is already past the halfway mark.
The Steelers don’t have Najee Harris anymore to grind out the two or three yards and a cloud of dust with his style of running. They are trying to lean more into the explosive element of their running game with Jaylen Warren and rookie Kaleb Johnson. But if the holes aren’t opening up, there is only so much they can do. So far, that’s been a big issue.
It’s possible the Steelers’ defense could just be that good. But the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle with the offense sharing in the blame of what’s been on display so far at camp. If this team can’t control the clock and the tempo of the game by running the football, the rest of its strengths will fall apart quickly.
We saw it last year, and it’s at risk of happening again if the Steelers don’t figure things out.
