The Athletic has live coverage of Steelers vs. Titans on Thursday Night Football
PITTSBURGH — From the moment Kenny Pickett absorbed a body blow to the ribs and crumpled to the turf Sunday at Acrisure Stadium, one question has dominated the conversation in the football-loving portion of Pittsburgh: Will the Steelers’ starting quarterback be ready on a short week to face the Tennessee Titans?
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After coach Mike Tomlin said Monday he would leave the “door ajar,” Pickett squashed any speculation Tuesday.
“I’m playing for sure,” Pickett said, while adding he threw just “lightly” during what was only a walk-through style practice.
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Now, while so much focus has (understandably) centered on the quarterback, the next question is whether the Steelers can put a less-than 100 percent Pickett in position to be successful by taking some pressure off his right arm. That might be especially important, considering Pickett said the torquing motion of throwing a football is what aggravates the injury most. He might not have the regular zip on his passes, and you better believe Titans defenders will be looking for chances to tee off.
Kenny Pickett said that it irritates his ribs the most when he's trying to create torque in his throwing motion.
"Obviously, your ribs are a huge part of that, so just being smart these two days and being ready to go Thursday night."
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) October 31, 2023
The issue is that the running game has been one of the most surprising and disappointing parts of the Steelers’ season. Through the first seven games, Pittsburgh’s rushing attack ranks 28th in yards per game (79.7) and 29th in yards per carry (3.4).
“We’re not executing well enough,” center Mason Cole said. “It’s putting a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks. We’re not running the ball well, so then we’re throwing the ball all over the place. That can be a recipe for disaster at times.”
While no one is advocating for the Steelers to run the triple option or try to build a time machine to the ’70s, leaning on an effective rushing attack is the formula that so many teams past and present have used to set up young quarterbacks for success.
It happened back when Ben Roethlisberger rode “The Bus,” Jerome Bettis, and a dominant defense to Super Bowl XL. We’ve seen it work for the San Francisco 49ers, who made three quarterbacks look good last season. And when the Steelers watch the film of Thursday’s opponent, they’ll find the Titans pounded the ball with Derrick Henry before utilizing play-action and bootlegs that allowed rookie QB Will Levis to throw for four touchdowns in his first NFL outing last week.
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“We certainly have not made any bones about it: We want to run the football,” Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. “We have to continue to try to be better in the run game, establish the run game, (make it) be something that we feel good about.”
What’s odd about the Steelers is that as recently as last year, they definitely did feel good about their ground game.
After Pickett threw eight interceptions in his first five outings, Pittsburgh went into the bye week and emerged a different team. They transformed, almost overnight, into the NFL’s eighth-best rushing unit over the final nine games of the season, accumulating 1,314 yards on the ground after the bye.
The ability to control time of possession, rack up yards on the ground and allow the defense to be the difference was the formula that helped the Steelers rebound from 2-6 before the bye to 7-2 after.
If anything, it appeared the Steelers were planning to lean into that identity even more this season. Their most significant offseason addition was to pluck Isaac Seumalo from one of the best lines in football and put the former Eagles guard in their starting lineup. The emphasis at the line of scrimmage continued when general manager Omar Khan traded up to draft Broderick Jones, who needs time to progress as a pass protector but has the athleticism to contribute in the run game. And later, the Steelers drafted his Georgia teammate Darnell Washington, a tight end so big he calls himself the sixth lineman.
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Yet, instead of picking up where it left off, the Steelers’ run game is stuck spinning its wheels. The numbers now are worse than they were during the first eight games of last season, when the Steelers averaged 95 rushing yards per game (25th in the league at the time) and 4.0 yards per carry (26th).
Not only has the run game been unable to build upon last year’s second-half momentum, but it has actually sunk to new lows, even though the personnel should lend better to moving the ball on the ground.
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Why?
“I guess that’s a good question,” running back Jaylen Warren said. “The chemistry is there and everything. I guess we have to keep stacking bricks day by day and figure out what the answer is.”
The answer is likely the same as pretty much all of the other ills that plague Pittsburgh’s offense: It’s a bit of everything.
An offensive coordinator who designs the plays and picks when to use them has to be near the top of the list. But the problems are too persistent to be just one individual’s fault.
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Up front, the blocking has been poor in all instances. The offensive line is allowing pressure on 43 percent of dropbacks, the fifth-highest rate in the league. (All stats courtesy of TruMedia unless stated otherwise.)
And they’re worse in run blocking. The Steelers are averaging just 0.97 yards before contact, third worst in the league. In many instances, ball carriers are being contacted before they have much of a chance. A league-high 28 percent of the Steelers’ runs have gone for zero or negative yards.
Often, teams will utilize heavier personnel groupings in an effort to add more muscle to their ground game. The Steelers are actually worse in 12 personnel (two tight ends, one running back) than in 11 personnel (one tight end, one back). They are averaging 2.8 yards per attempt out of 12 personnel, 0.4 yards worse than all other situations.
That might suggest the play calling is predictable, which in some situations it is. The Steelers use play-action on run downs (first-and-10, second-and-10 or shorter, and third-and 2 or shorter) just 27.6 percent of the time. That ranks 30th. Chances are, if the Steelers show run on an early down, a run is coming.
The running backs themselves can do more. Though there aren’t a lot of holes to run through, you can’t entirely excuse the man with the ball in his hands, especially one drafted in the first round, as Najee Harris was.
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The other factor is that Pickett and the passing game have done little to make opponents respect his arm. Yes, the running game traditionally sets up the pass, but it works both ways. While the run can draw safeties closer to the line of scrimmage and test linebackers’ eye discipline, the credible threat of the pass can back safeties up or give the offense lighter boxes.
“We’re just not getting the results that we need to get,” Canada said. “We have to continue to push. We’re coming to a point where we’ve got to start seeing some improvement in all aspects. Obviously, our run game, we have a lot of time invested. We believe.”
If there’s any hope for a turnaround, it’s that temperatures are starting to change and injuries are piling up across the league. This is the time of year when football turns to, as Tomlin loves to call it, AFC North football. Only time will tell if another second-half makeover is possible or if what the Steelers did in the final nine games of last season was merely a mirage.
“We’re not there yet,” Tomlin said. “We’re not at the turn. We’re continually working to get better, and we’d better.”
(Photo of Najee Harris: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)
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