The Pittsburgh Steelers’ run game was slightly improved in Week 2, and RB Jaylen Warren took on a bigger role during the team’s loss against the Seattle Seahawks. Warren ran for 48 yards and added 86 receiving yards, most of which came on a 65-yard catch-and-run.
But the Steelers still only ran for 72 yards, and while Mike Tomlin praised Warren in his Tuesday press conference, he feels there’s room for improvement in the run game as a whole.
“I thought Jaylen came to play. I thought he won 1-on-1s. He oftentimes made the first tackler miss, and he had a good pad level and downhill finish in his play. I thought as a collective, we still lack a little cohesion at times that is slowing us down. A missed combination [block] here, a missed identification there. It’s not one particular person, and that’s why I’m just talking more broadly about us just needing to continue to work and solidify all of those things, so we don’t leave quite as much meat on that bone,” Tomlin said via the team’s YouTube channel.
The run blocking as a whole has been poor through two weeks. Coming into the season, the offensive play was an X-factor for the Steelers, but it’s a unit that collectively has struggled in both the run and pass game. The issues are correctable, but the run game was a concern throughout training camp and the preseason, and the team’s inability to consistently run the ball keeps showing up through two weeks.
The Steelers have just one run of over 10 yards this season, and that came late in the fourth quarter in Week 2 with the Steelers already down two scores on a 13-yard scamper by Kenneth Gainwell. That’s not nearly good enough, and the lack of explosiveness and chunk yardage in the run game is affecting the offense as a whole. When there are missed blocks and missed assignments, it makes it hard to create space, especially in the second level. That’s something the Steelers have to clean up.
There’s potential for the run game, even with the shortcomings so far. The issues on Sunday weren’t the fault of Warren. He made defenders miss and ran hard, breaking a few tackles during his long catch-and-run. If the offensive line can start to be more cohesive in the run game, we could see more production out of him now that he’s entrenched as Pittsburgh’s lead back.
It’s easier said than done, though, especially given that the run game struggles aren’t anything new. It’s been a trend, and it’s integral to Pittsburgh’s success for the offensive line to get on the same page and figure things out.
