Steelers Run Game Has Regressed (Again) in 2021
Just typing that headline above makes me shake my head. Not solely in disappointment but in amazement. All offseason, fans were led to believe that the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to get back to being a competent rushing attack again in 2021. Through the first three games of the season, that has not been the case. Actually, it's been the contrary, as the team has somehow found a way to be worse in this department after finishing dead last in almost every rushing category a year ago.
Everyone knew that fixing the run game was the team's number one priority this offseason. Art Rooney made this very clear in March: "We've got to be a lot better running. We don't want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers last in the league in rushing again."
Unfortunately for the Steelers Team President, that's exactly where they're at. Here is where they rank in some key rushing statistics so far in 2021:
Rushing yards: 32nd
Rushing yards per attempt: 32nd
Rushing touchdowns: 25th
That one rushing touchdown? That was scored on a jet sweep from their slot receiver. Some will point to the fact that the Steelers are also dead last in rushing attempts. However, it's not difficult to figure out why. They simply can't run the ball to stay ahead of the chains enough to continue their efforts on the ground. On 30 first down runs, they've been able to accumulate just 89 total yards of offense. It goes without saying that it doesn't help matters that the offense has not made any sort of noise in the first quarter of games, which causes them to constantly play from behind.
The single most important rushing statistic out there is success rate. What is a successful run? For those not as familiar with this stat: it means the runner is gaining 40% of needed yards on 1st down, 60% of needed yards on 2nd down and 100% of needed yards on 3rd/4th down. So where do the Steelers rank in rushing success rate? If you guessed dead last, you would be correct.
The Steelers have been successful on just 17% of their rushing attempts so far this year. The 31st ranked team would be the Atlanta Falcons at just over 28%. So not is Matt Canada's offense ranked last, they're last by quite the margin.
Place the blame wherever you want but don't point it towards Najee Harris. Question the decision to take a running back in the first round, if you want. But please, don't question this kid's talent. He's a Ferrari that's stuck in an impound lot because his offensive line lets defenders hit him 70% of the time before he's able to cross the line of scrimmage.
The offense line is full of homegrown players that the Steelers drafted and Trai Turner. Dan Moore Jr. might be the best of the bunch but still looks like a day three tackle who shouldn't have been trusted to be a day one starter.
I can't seem to figure out what's going on with Kevin Dotson. He was expected to be the rock for this unit and has taken a significant step backward. Kendrick Green is having an extremely tough transition to the NFL due to his lack of size and a positional change.
Trai Turner is a now-limited athlete due to injuries, who's really only slightly effective when used in a phone booth. Chukwuma Okorafor just simply hasn't developed any sort of consistency or calling card in the four years that he's spent in Pittsburgh.
Oh, and all five of those guys committed at least one penalty on Sunday, too.
Matt Canada isn't blameless in this debacle, either. He was brought here, in part, to assist in fixing the running game. The decision to roll out heavy personnel against a Cincinnati front that was playing five defensive linemen is laughable, to be quite honest. The players aren't executing, and that's the main issue. However, it's the coaches' job to put the players in positions (or plays) where they actually have a shot at success. He's not doing that right now for this team.
So, where do you go from here? Experience will help the young guys. Whether they improve or not is another question. I would love to tell Steelers fans the same thing that they told me over the Summer: "It can't get any worse," but I'm not a liar. Things don't improve just because you want them to. It takes action.
One of my favorite phrases- "Hope is not a plan." Enough talking, The Steelers need to construct a plan to fix this running game in order to conjure up somewhat of a respectable offense the rest of the way. Steelers fans are running out of hope for this unit, and how could you blame them?
Derrick Bell is a contributor with AllSteelers. Follow Derrick on Twitter @derrick_daKidD, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
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