Steelers Didn't Have a Ceiling For James Conner, They Just Limited Him

PITTSBURGH -- There was a stretch in the second quarter where the Pittsburgh Steelers threw the ball eight of nine plays after James Conner rushed for five yards and Devlin Hodges threw an interception on the following play.

From time to time, you almost didn't realize the Steelers were avoiding the run game because of how much they were throwing it. No matter the situation, or how many incompletions, sacks or interceptions occurred, Pittsburgh stuck to the pass and kept Conner on the sideline.

In a return game for Conner, Pittsburgh sure made it seem like they were going to lean on their running back. Playing for the first time in three weeks because of a shoulder injury, Conner busted out an opening 15-yard gain to start the game.

According to Mike Tomlin, there wasn't a rep count on Conner. According to Conner, there wasn't a rep count. But as the only member of the offense that seemed to spark a flame, the veteran running back only touched the ball 12 times.

"Not necessarily but it was my first game back from injury," Conner explained regarding his workload. "We've seen how the running backs have been playing and talented guys as well so we had a couple different things. So, credit to a little bit of everything as far as guys making plays and working together as a team in my first game back."

Conner said he was feeling fine throughout the game and didn't feel fatigue from missing multiple weeks. As a whole, the Steelers backfield only accumulated 51 yards, 42 of those coming from Conner. Benny Snell Jr., who's taken over the feature role in Conner's absence, rushed twice for 1 yard.

"The run game wasn't moving like we wanted to, (offensive coordinator) Randy (Fichtner) started calling more passing plays we just couldn't execute on some of those downs," wide receiver Diontae Johnson said.

In a game that was in Pittsburgh's control for a period of time, it's hard to imagine why the game plan was to stick with the pass. Conner's return from injury may have limited his usage but the lack of Snell, Kerrith Whyte or Jaylen Samuels was a surprising storyline.

The Steelers now sit in the sixth seed with a slight lead over the Tennessee Titans. As the players return to the practice facility to prepare for the New York Jets, they'll likely work in more of a running attack behind a now-healthy Conner.

Hodges" four interceptions and little production on the ground resulted in Pittsburgh falling back to 8-6.

"It's just part of the game man. We still had opportunities to win this game, move up, we didn't," Steelers guard Ramon Foster said. "We just got stagnant. We just did not make enough plays, period. I feel like the majority of this falls on our backs as an offense. We simply just need to be better. We are getting a lot of opportunities and didn't take advantage of them. We are who we are. There's no excuses for who's in, who's not in. We just have to play better ball."