Steelers Recipe for Success is the Run Game
Everyone wanted the Pittsburgh Steelers offense to look much different coming out of the bye week. Up to that point, the unit was on pace to be the worst statistical grouping in franchise history. Since then, there have been encouraging signs of life from a set of players that many in the fan base and media had given up on.
There's plenty of credit to go around, but the biggest change has been the reigniting of their running game.
I was beginning to wonder if I would ever say this again, but the Steelers running game might be pretty solid. Since the bye week in Week 9, Pittsburgh's offense is averaging a robust 164 yards per game, a huge jump from 95 yards per game in the first eight weeks of the season, and there are many factors that can possibly explain the drastic improvement.
Far too many people are still living in the past when discussing the offensive line, which as a group, is much improved from last season.
The main reason for that has been the additions of Mason Cole and James Daniels. The interior of the Steelers' offensive line has been a strength in the run game which wants to operate mostly between the tackles from a schematic perspective. This isn't a dominant group as there's still plenty to be desired from the tackle position, but there's a night and day difference from where this unit was just a year ago.
The next obvious difference has been the play and perhaps the health of second-year tailback Najee Harris. Unfortunately, Harris did exit the Colts game early with an abdominal injury which is a bummer because he's looked more like the player we saw last season of late.
In the last three games, Harris is averaging 4.48 yards per carry compared to his 3.34 yards per carry prior to the bye week. Whether it was the nagging foot injury or just trusting his offensive line while being more decisive in his cuts, Harris has been a key cog in the turnaround.
Even in Harris' absence, the Steelers' ground game kept on rolling against the Indianapolis Colts. Benny Snell Jr. has been relegated to special teams duty thanks to the emergence of undrafted free agent, Jaylen Warren. On a night where they needed him most, Snell got his first carries of the season and delivered to the tune of 62 yards on just 12 carries while punching in the go-ahead touchdown score.
Fresh off of the practice squad, Anthony McFarland pitched in 30 yards on six carries, which included a nice 14-yard scamper, the second-longest run for the offense on the day.
And then there's Kenny Pickett who's done some really impressive things with his legs, proving that defenses must account for his mobility.
After seeing the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Colts on the same exact play a week prior, Matt Canada even drew up a QB draw in the red zone which was a nice wrinkle to a struggling red zone offense. Mike Tomlin has talked incessantly about quarterback mobility over the past year and some change, and you're starting to see why.
Pickett's still very much growing as a passer, but in the meantime, he's athletic enough to tuck the ball down and pick up a first down when necessary.
The Steelers did all of this in primetime against a pretty good Colts run defense. Coming into the game, Indianapolis was holding opposing teams to 3.8 yards per carry while ranking 3rd in rushing EPA/play and 10th in success rate. The Colts may not have stars that are well-known amongst casual circles, but they've got legitimately quality players in their front seven, particularly in the middle of the defense.
Both of their defensive tackles, Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner have been awesome at the point of attack and were inside the top five of the run-stop leaderboards this season. Yet, the Steelers run game had its way.
This all comes back to Pickett, too. The Steelers are being very intentional about limiting his exposure and taking pressure off of his shoulders. In his first three losses under center, Pickett was averaging nearly 45 attempts per game compared to 33 attempts per game since the bye week. Playing quarterback in the NFL is hard, playing the position as a rookie is even harder, and succeeding early on without a functional supporting cast is nearly impossible.
Recognizing that, Pittsburgh has turned to their ground game, and its yielded admirable results thus far.
Pickett's now went three consecutive weeks without a turnover, something that plagued him over the first month of his professional career. Since the bye, the rookies also racked up five big-time throws to just two turnover-worthy plays, according to PFF. He's focusing more on the underneath passing game, taking (and hitting) the occasional go-ball to his receivers while taking good care of the football. That's the recipe for success that Tomlin ideally came into the season looking for.
There's more good news on the horizon as well. Pittsburgh's next opponent, the Atlanta Falcons, features an atrocious run defense that has struggled to stop pretty much anyone on the season. Entering Week 13, that unit ranks 29th in rushing EPA/play and rushing success rate.
In the short term, the Steelers have found their recipe for success on offense. With an appetizing matchup on the docket, Pittsburgh just might be looking at their first win streak of the campaign.
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