Steelers not slowed by problematic running game

As he pondered the question, guard James Daniels did a nose scrunch like he didn’t agree with the premise presented to him.

Why has the notoriously slow-poking Pittsburgh Steelers rushing offense gotten off to a fast start through the first three weeks of the season?

“Um, I still don’t think we’ve had a fast start,” Daniels said. “No, no, I don’t think that.”

Point taken. Despite having the second-most rushing attempts while crafting a 3-0 record, the Steelers are averaging 3.6 yards per carry, which is No. 28 in the league.

Still, the Steelers are No. 12 in rushing and are averaging 130.7 yards per game, which compared to Daniels’ first two seasons with the organization, looks Usain Bolt-fast by comparison.

“That’s not saying much,” Daniels said, sarcastically.

Consider the Steelers had the No. 30-ranked rushing offense last season after three weeks and didn’t make it to the No. 12 spot until the penultimate game of the season. In 2022, the Steelers were 23rd after three weeks and never ascended higher than No. 16. Or that in 2021, the year before Daniels’ arrival, the Steelers were last in rushing at this juncture and peaked at No. 26 in midseason.

The Steelers haven’t averaged more than 130 yards a game for an entire season since 2007, Mike Tomlin’s first year as head coach when they averaged 135.5.

With 209 yards rushing, Najee Harris has gotten off to the best start of his four-year career and ranks No. 12 among the NFL leaders. He has gained 70, 69 and 70 yards in wins against Atlanta, Denver and the Los Angeles Chargers.

“It’s staying on schedule,” Harris said. “It’s important, taking the little things they are giving us so it can be a shorter third down. We’re not always going to be efficient on those downs. We try to stay on schedule and play our ball.”

And the Steelers have shown improvement in the running game with left guard Isaac Seumalo missing the first three weeks with an injury, with Broderick Jones losing then regaining his right tackle spot and with guards Spencer Anderson and rookie Mason McCormick rotating against the Chargers.

“We still need to be better,” Daniels said. “We can be so much more efficient.”

Proof was provided in the first three quarters of the Steelers’ 20-10 victory last Sunday. Although the Steelers topped 100 yards for the third game in row, finishing with 114, they accumulated 34 on 19 carries until they broke through in the fourth.

In previous seasons, the Steelers may have been apt to abandon the run after such as dismal early showing. But offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is a run-first proponent, and he wasn’t about to give up on it so easily.

“We preach about don’t panic,” Smith said. “We saw what (the Chargers) were doing. They were going to have a plan of the day. You get that, settle some people down, and we believe in what we’re about and the way we work. We were able to take over in the second half.”

Harris had 49 of his game-high 70 yards in the final quarter. Cordarrelle Patterson, filling a backup role after Jaylen Warren was pulled because of a knee injury, gained 33 yards on four attempts.

After the Steelers took the lead for good early in the fourth quarter, they used a pair of runs by Harris to set up Justin Fields’ 55-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III. When the Steelers got the ball back again with 4 minutes, 59 seconds left, they churned out four first downs and had the ball at the Chargers 1 before Fields knelt twice to end the game.

Smith said it was a testament to the team’s conditioning that was emphasized in training camp when the Steelers routinely practiced in pads.

“We try to hang our hat on that,” he said. “The way our guys worked in Latrobe, you talk about the dam breaking, it’s truth. It’s not false bravado or wishing and hoping. We put a lot of work in, and our guys believe in what we’re doing.”

Daniels, though, would like to see the fruits of the labor show up earlier in games.

“Everyone talks about the last drive of the game,” he said. “If we were better in the first or second quarter, it wouldn’t have been like that. It wouldn’t have been close or come down to that.”

The next test will come against the Indianapolis Colts, who have the NFL’s second-worst rush defense by yielding an average of 179 yards during a 1-2 start. On paper, it looks like a favorable matchup.

“I’m pretty sure they are aware of that and know what type of fight we’re going to bring,” Harris said. “It’s going to be one of those type of games, and they’ll prepare for it.”