Running back Jaylen Warren was a monster Sunday, racking up a career-high 176 yards from scrimmage. He went from bright spot to driving force of the offense, and it seems as if his tackle-breaking capabilities get better every year.
"I think the biggest part of it is what it does for my teammates," Warren said. "They see it so they want to make a play, too, and everyone just feeds off of it. That's huge."
Warren had to carry the load with Rico Dowdle out because of a toe injury. And Warren himself came in questionable with a shoulder injury.
But Rodgers called Warren one of the toughest teammates he's played with, and that's a lot of teammates through the years. Warren's only regret is that he couldn't finish off his 26-yard run when he got tripped up at the Bengals 6. Rodgers even quipped that Warren brought himself down more often than the first defender did.
"I feel like that's always been my X-factor," Warren grinned. "My biggest pet peeve is going down by one guy. I try my hardest not to. When I'm out there having fun, like playing backyard football, that's when I do my best. I don't even really be making moves. People just bounce off of me. It's been like that since I was like 8 years old. I don't really know what it is."
And yet, Warren might not even be the hardest to tackle on his own team. When you talk about defenders bouncing off of a ball-carrier, Darnell Washington is the definition.
It's somewhat ironic that Warren (5 foot 8) is the shortest player on the team and Washington (6 foot 7) is the tallest but both are equally difficult to bring down. Just look at Washington's 47-yard catch-and-run to set up what turned out to be the game-winning field goal from Chris Boswell in the fourth quarter.
"I stayed inbounds this time," Washington smiled. "I caught the ball, turned around, and couldn't really make a move. He was already trying to tackle me. I just tried to keep my feet moving, stumbling, and tried to take it all the way."
Washington finally got pushed out at the Bengals 32, but it was amazing how there just kept being open green grass in front of him as he tip-toed along the sideline. That was the longest gain of his NFL career by more than 10 yards, and longer than any reception he had in college at Georgia. He also had an 11-yard catch in the first quarter in which a Bengals defensive back fell off of him immediately.
"I feel like it opened up everything," Washington said of the fast start. "When the offense comes out rolling, comes out swinging, punching people in the mouth, I feel like it opens up the whole playbook."
It wasn't just Iheanachor who contributed up front to the offensive break-through. Right guard Brock Hoffman also made his first Steelers start, and did so as a veteran companion for a rookie right tackle.
Hoffman, 27 and in his fifth season with 16 previous NFL starts under his belt with the Cowboys, was ready for the role. He spent extra time this week meeting with Iheanachor to make sure they were on the same page.
"I had the utmost confidence. I could just see the look in his eye when we were talking I just knew he was going to go out there and ball," Hoffman said. "I don't think he played like a rookie at all making his first start."
Hoffman credited the coaching staff with pairing him and Iheanachor a lot in training camp and the preseason. He believes they can keep jelling together as the year progresses. It wasn't an easy first foray into the AFC North for Hoffman, either, with Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence on the opposite interior.
"When I signed here, everybody said they felt like I was always meant to be a Pittsburgh Steeler," Hoffman said. "I'm very happy to be here."