Earlier this week, Aaron Rodgers was asked why the passing game was struggling and why DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin III hadn’t gotten as many reps as some might have expected. His answer was simple: the Steelers needed to run the ball better. Thanks to Kenneth Gainwell, they did exactly that against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
The Steelers were dealt a big blow as Jaylen Warren was ruled out shortly before the game. At the time, that spelled doom for an offense that hadn’t run the ball well at any point this season. However, Gainwell helped change that tune, and it was a massive part of the Steelers’ win. It’s something Aaron Rodgers certainly took notice of.
“I think today we ran the ball pretty effectively,” Rodgers said after the game via Steelers.com. “Kenny G, I mean, Kenny Gainwell, obviously if you’re a football fan you know who he is, and you follow his career… When I came here, I knew what kind of player he was. And I tell him all the time, he’s an absolute baller. So any opportunity he gets, man, Kenny’s been great all year.”
Boy, did Gainwell have a game. He saw a massive workload, running the ball 19 times. Gainwell excelled with those carries, picking up 99 yards and two scores. He managed to have a day that no Steelers’ running back has had so far this season. It couldn’t have come at a better time.
Behind Gainwell’s performance was a much more inspiring aspect of the offense, though. The line was giving him some room to run.
The play above is a good example. Just look at the offensive line controlling the tempo at the line of scrimmage. Gainwell quickly gets to the outside, and once he cuts upfield, multiple linemen are moving downfield ahead of him.
It’s the same on this play. Kenneth Gainwell gets the handoff to the left side and immediately has a convoy of blockers clearing a path for him. He’s able to work his way down near the goal line, nearly scoring on the play.
This is exactly the type of run game Arthur Smith and the Steelers hoped to see. They didn’t want to wait four weeks for it to show through. But Pittsburgh finally put all those pieces together in Dublin on Sunday. The line was creating holes, and for the first time this season, Kenneth Gainwell provided them with a running back capable of controlling the game’s tempo.
There are still some adjustments to work on, and the Steelers nearly threw this game away at the end. However, the running game took a massive step forward, and Kenneth Gainwell deserves credit for that.
