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Film Room: The Problem With Steelers Run Game

There are key reasons why the Pittsburgh Steelers running game has struggled.

Nicholas Martin

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It certainly doesn't feel like the Pittsburgh Steelers won this week and a lot of that has to do with the lack of improvement from the offense. Whether it was the play of the quarterback, the plays being called, or just the execution by the players, the offense looked broken in every sense of the word.

To get a good idea of what is not working with this team, it's hard to look no further than the run game, specifically, the offensive line.

Lack of Execution

There's a lot that went wrong for this team in the trenches, but what continues to stick out is how often certain players are being asked to make plays outside of their capabilities. 

Outside zone is very demanding on the offensive line's athletic ability with a few key factors such as how quickly they can explode out of their stance and be able to reach defenders across the line. Asking an average athlete in Mason Cole to try to reach the three-technique here in Dalvin Tomlinson is a ridiculous ask for even some of the best centers in the game. James Daniels also could have stuck just a fraction of a second longer and this block might have been doable.

To compound this play even more, Daniels misses his landmark on the linebacker at the second level which gives him a very clear and easy path at Najee Harris here. It is very tough to run the ball when you're failing to execute at the first and second level all in the same play and Mason Cole knows it.

"Game plan wise we're great," Cole told the media after the game. "The runs that we're calling are great. We're not getting the exact looks we want. We're just not executing. There's not much more to say than that, but there's a lot of work to do on that front."

Execution is definitely lacking, but it's also important be realistic about what the scheme is asking of a player. That said, the execution even when what was being asked of certain players was feasible, was definitely lacking.

Isaac Seumalo's play through two weeks is among the top disappointments so far in this young season. The screen game often acts as an extension of the run game and with the Steelers' most athletic starting linemen out in space, with a huge numbers advantage due to the motion causing the linebackers to shift, this should be a ten-yard gain at minimum.

Seumalo is one-on-one with starting safety Juan Thornhill and he is unable to land a single punch on him. He easily gets discarded, and now Pat Freiermuth has to make the safety miss and the play goes for a minimal gain. This was arguably one of Canada's best play calls on Sunday and the offensive line just failed to execute when asked.

This lack of execution kept going and it was up to the running backs to create something out of nothing.

Daniels gets shed instantly by Tomlinson and Dan Moore gets beat inside by Z'Darius Smith. There is absolutely nothing Najee Harris can do here and yet he's still able to create a first down out of absolutely zilch blocking here, aside from Calvin Austin, who's block opened up the backside lane for such a large gain.

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The main positive takeaway from this game is that both Harris and Jaylen Warren are incredible players who can create something out of nothing. Harris has consistently ranked among the top six the past two seasons in missed tackles forced according to PFF, while Jaylen Warren ranks first in the league right now in missed tackles forced per touch.

Warren was a huge catalyst behind the Steelers' win because of explosive plays through contact like this one. There can be lots of debate on who the better player is, but it's a great problem to have if you are the Steelers.

Main Takeaways

Steelers need better execution upfront from their offensive line, or the running game will continue to struggle to create consistent gains throughout a game. With additions like Seumalo failing to make the right impact so far, the running backs are being forced into very unfavorable situations, but have still been able to be successful despite all that. They need help and the offensive line must respond against the Raiders in Week 3.

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Nicholas Martin
NICHOLAS MARTIN

Nicholas has been watching the Steelers his entire life. He has been writing about the Steelers since 2016. Prior to All Steelers, he contributed over at Behind The Steel Curtain.

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