The Steelers left a lot on the table in the run game last Sunday, but the running backs are expecting a much better result against the Seahawks. While they couldn’t get the better of the Jets, they believe they’ve worked out the kinks. Speaking on SiriusXM, RB Kenneth Gainwell provided his perspective on the team’s issues.
“Yeah, it was a couple things we were trying to see last weekend”, he told Bob Papa and Patrick Peterson on Airing it Out regarding the Steelers’ run game. “Pretty sure this week y’all gonna see a lot of big runs. We’re gonna try to do everything that we can. Me and Jaylen [Warren] harp on every detail that we have, and we’ll try to make this thing explode this weekend”.
The Steelers rushed for just 53 yards on 20 carries in their season opener, averaging 2.6 yards per carry. Jaylen Warren led the way with 37 yards on 11 attempts. Gainwell contributes just 19 yards on his seven carries. Although Kaleb Johnson lost two yards on his lone attempt, he drew a 15-yard penalty. QB Aaron Rodgers officially logged one run for minus-one yard, though that was in victory formation.
The orchestrator of the Steelers’ run game, OC Arthur Smith admitted they were “average at best” in Week 1. Considering they didn’t record a run longer than nine yards, that’s probably a fair assessment. But this one was certainly more on the offensive line than it was on the running backs.
Pittsburgh, of course, has invested a lot in the offensive line. Over a two-year period, they drafted five offensive linemen, four of whom are currently starting. The only outside addition, Isaac Seumalo, signed as a free agent in 2023. The Steelers are counting on the offensive line to grow together and dominate in the run game.
Of course, they had issues in pass protection as well, allowing four sacks on 34 dropbacks. The Steelers linemen do believe they aren’t far off, though. Zach Frazier, for example, told reporters he felt they were often one block away from popping a run.
No doubt that’s something they saw as a team on the film, and why Gainwell is confident the Steelers can start hitting bigger plays in the run game as early as this upcoming Sunday. But Pittsburgh might want to pay just as much attention to limiting big plays allowed on defense, as well.
Last season, the Steelers ranked outside the top 10 in the run game despite having the fourth-most rushing attempts. They finished the year ranked 25th in yards per carry and 19th in rushing touchdowns. Although they ranked ninth with 63 rushing plays of 10-plus yards, their run success rate tells another story. They want to tell a very different tale this year, but so far, we’re going over the same material.
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