The Pittsburgh Steelers know a thing or two about running the football. Former Steelers running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Jerome Bettis was a huge part of the team's success when he was a member of the franchise from 1996-2005, winning First and Second Team All-Pro honors, and multiple Pro Bowl selections during that time span.
Bettis spoke with NFL Network on Wednesday night to talk about participating in the American Century Championship, the Steelers' future without Ben Roethlisberger, and of course, the running game with Najee Harris.
Pittsburgh Steelers Running Back Najee Harris(22) participates in Organized Team Activities (OTAs) Tuesday May 24, 2022 at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. (Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers)
Bettis was asked specifically about the team's running game:
"Let's talk about the backfield a little bit more, Najee going into his second year. What do you like about his game and how you see him progressing?"
Bettis responded:
"What I love is that his hunger to learn, to want to be better. A lot of times, you get a young guy, first round draft pick, you come in and you say, 'Okay, I'm here now, and I'm the best thing since sliced bread.' And that's not the case with Najee. He reached out to me. He wanted to learn more. 'Hey, talk to me about this. Explain to me this.'And that tells me that he wants to be a better football player, every year he steps on the football field. So that tells me that I think the running game is in great hands now. We've got to figure out who's going to be throwing the football and can't we get it down to these really good wire receivers that we have?"
Just ask Bettis' former head coach, Bill Cowher, no one loves to run the football the way the Steelers and the city of Pittsburgh love to run the football! Back in April, prior to the 2022 NFL Draft, Cowher praised the team's defensive playmakers and gave the Steelers the recipe for success in 2022.
"I think they have to find that quarterback right now for the Steelers and get back to maybe running the football a little bit. And that’s okay, that solves a lot of problems too. And I said, there’s only a few places that you have that you can run the ball for three yards and they’re going to clap and Pittsburgh is one of them!”
Bettis knows the running game has been checked off the list of needs with Harris running the show in the backfield. Bettis isn't the only former Steelers player that has had high praise for Harris this off-season. He's really impressed "those who have came before him."
Steelers RB Najee Harris makes a cut upfield in OTA's. (Abigail Dean/Pittsburgh Steelers)
You've heard it all off-season, but for the team to have a successful campaign in 2022, the offense is going to have to go through Harris. He's where it all starts. Think about how the Tennessee Titans have utilized Derrick Henry to make Ryan Tannehill a more than serviceable quarterback.
With the biggest unknown at the quarterback position, whether it is Kenny Pickett or Mitch Trubisky, the Steelers will have to employ a similar strategy in 2022 to open up the play-action passing game. Opposing teams will know that the Steelers are going to run the football heavily, and that's okay. Line up and stop them!
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