Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy said the team needs to clean its own house after the first quarter of the season, and hopefully in that cleaning the Steelers have discovered one thing: They’re pretty good at running the football lately.
After struggling to establish a consistent running game in the first two weeks of the season, the Steelers have been explosive over the last two weeks, totaling 138 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals and 92 yards (4.8 yards per carry) against the Cleveland Browns.
During these two weeks, the Steelers relied heavily on Jaylen Warren, who rewarded them with impressive performances. Now, after a week off following the Thursday Night Football game, the Steelers face an Indianapolis Colts team returning from a trip to London and struggling to stop the run.
The game plan should be pretty clear for McCarthy and company. At least that’s how ESPN’s Mina Kimes sees it.
“The Steelers should be able to throw the ball on Indianapolis, and they’re good at it,” Kimes said, according to a video released via his YouTube show. “The Steelers are a good running team. Indianapolis is a terrible run defense. It’s not rocket science.”
It’s not rocket science, but the Steelers remain a pass-heavy team, and Aaron Rodgers already has 168 dropbacks, the seventh-most in the NFL through the first four games. Yes, the Steelers have trailed in three of four games, but the decision to not stick with a run-based approach, even though it has worked over the past two weeks, has been a bit confusing.
After all, the Week 4 loss to Cleveland turned into an ill-advised throw by Rodgers that was intercepted in a 7-0 game in which the Steelers were driving and Warren was rolling early.
That needs to change in Week 5 against the Colts, a defense that allows 131.0 yards per game on the ground – seventh-worst in the NFL. The Colts gave up 202 yards and four touchdowns on the ground in Week 1 to the Baltimore Ravens, 152 yards to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2, but then turned away the Houston Texans in Week 3 with just 70 yards.
Last week in London, Indianapolis allowed 100 rushing yards to Washington, but 35 of them came on an early run by Marcus Mariota before he was injured. So improvements have taken place in recent weeks for the Colts, but they can still be achieved on the field.
McCarthy, Rodgers and the Steelers need to address the running game. Warren is arguably their best offensive player, and he’s currently heating up. The plan of attack seems clear. Will the Steelers use him?
Gn sports
