Stellar play in run game brightens 2022 picture
Mike Tomlin said the most significant element of Sunday’s victory against the New Orleans Saints was the run game on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
His reference was to the offense’s ability to rush for more than 200 yards for the first time in six years and the defense’s ability to hold the Saints to their lowest rushing total in 12.
Question now is, which is an aberration and which might be reality?
Steelers
The Steelers will find that out Sunday when they play the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium.
The Steelers haven’t swept the Bengals, once a routine occurrence, since 2019. More immediately, though, they will try to put together back-to-back victories for the first time this season in an attempt to continue some form of second-half rebound.
“This is a really big game,” Tomlin said Tuesday during his weekly
news conference. “Every time you win, the subsequent one gets bigger. That’s our agenda — to keep making sure they all get a little bigger.”
If they can recreate the formula they used against the Saints, the odds of that happening increase exponentially.
After rushing for 361 yards the past two games — their highest two-game total in eight years — the Steelers have slowly moved to 24th in rush offense, five spots better than their 2021 finish.
And the defense that ranked last in the league against the run last season has jumped all the way to sixth, allowing an average of 108 yards per game. It has been five years since the Steelers held an opponent to fewer than 29 yards rushing in a game, the number they hit against New Orleans.
“We had to work to minimize (Alvin) Kamara, and we were effective doing so,” Tomlin said. “And they challenge the heck out of you how they use (Taysom) Hill. I thought our guys did a pretty good job communicating.”
A big reason for the improved run game is the play of the offensive line, which is starting to provide a return on the financial investment that was made in the offseason. Tomlin said the unit has responded to that expectation.
In particular, he cited the improvement in double-team blocks that has created movement along the line of scrimmage, particularly between right guard James Daniels and right tackle Chuks Okorafor.
“They’re not a group that looks for acknowledgment,” Tomlin said. “They understood the amount of attention that was going to be on them because so many of them were new. The collective development was going to be a process. As long as they continue to do that, it’s reasonable to expect the growth and development to continue in all areas.”
Conversely, quarterback Kenny Pickett was sacked six times against the Saints, bringing the season total to 27, which ranks 24th in the league. Part of the reason is Pickett tends to hold the ball too long. Other times, he runs himself into pressure when he doesn’t escape the pocket.
Pickett had 51 yards on eight runs against the Saints, but only two were designed runs.
“Sometimes Kenny gets Kenny in trouble,” Tomlin said. “But that’s just the nature of being a young guy.”
Safety report
Tomlin said he is receiving reports from his medical staff that are “really positive” about All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick returning to play against the Bengals.
Fitzpatrick had an appendectomy on Saturday, a procedure that typically requires a player to be out seven to 10 days. But Fitzpatrick was on the sideline for the Saints game and was running on Tuesday at the team facility.
“He wanted to play on Sunday,” Tomlin said. “That’s just the mentality he brings.”
The timing of Fitzpatrick’s surgery coincided with the return of safety Damontae Kazee, who has been on injured reserve since injuring his wrist in the preseason. All Kazee did in his first game back was come up with an interception that led to a touchdown.
“That’s why we are so excited about him, but at the same time we were all so disappointed when he went down,” Tomlin said. “He brings energy and enthusiasm, he’s a good communicator, he’s a playmaker. We’re lucky to have him.”