Steelers' Pat Freiermuth Says Run Game 'A Work In Progress', Predicts It Will Become Explosive

Watching the Pittsburgh Steelers try to run the football through the first two weeks of the 2023 NFL season has been pretty painful on the eyes. Often times, the front seven from the opposing team are making contact with the ball carrier in the back field, and all five offensive linemen are getting pushed back. Najee Harris has been scrutinized a lot so far, while most of the blame is not on him. He has no room to work with, and often times finds ways to make something out of nothing.

Steelers' Pat Freiermuth Predicts Run Game Will "Explode"

Through two games, the Steelers rank 31st in the league in rushing yards which is second to last. They also rank in the bottom five of average yards per rushing attempt. Steelers third-year tight end, Pat Freiermuth recently spoke with Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and spoke on the running game and its struggles through the first two weeks of the season. 

"We have great concepts, and guys are more than willing and capable of doing it, it's little details and things we have to figure out. We'll get there. It's a work in progress. We've got a couple new guys, so we'll figure it out soon, and we're going to see the run game explode." 

There is no better opportunity to get the run game going than in the Steelers next couple of games. They play the Las Vegas Raiders and then the Houston Texans. The two teams are each allowing over 4.2 yards per carry. The Steelers have a prime opportunity to get their run game back on track and find a way to open up the offense and find more success.

The run game finally finding some success won't just help Harris and Jaylen Warren; it will help the offense as a whole. It should open up more opportunities for Kenny Pickett and the passing game, and it will keep defenses on their toes. It should give some confidence to all players which hopefully helps the lack of execution everyone has been seeing. Second-year Steeler, Mason Cole spoke about how important it is to get the run game going, and how it could help the entire team. 

"We've got to get this run game going. It's going to help our defense. It's going to help Kenny [Pickett]. It's going to help everybody. It's a big challenge for us, and we know how good we can be. We just have to do it now and execute."

Pickett, who has been frustrated with the running game, or lack there of, since he had to throw the ball 46 times in a losing effort against the San Francisco 49ers, could benefit greatly from the running game becoming more effective. A running game with a higher success rate could open up play-action passing and make it easier for Pickett to find open passing lanes and get his confidence back, and maybe finally find himself with his first career game with more than one passing touchdown. 

While the Steelers offense has looked abysmal over the first two weeks of regular season play, it is worth noting that they have matched up against two of the best defenses in the league in San Francisco and the Cleveland Browns. It's ideal that the offense will be able to compete against defenses of this caliber, however, with such a young team that has introduced many new players, it may take a couple games against lesser defenses to find their groove and figure out how to properly execute. 

It's good for Steelers fans to see that the offense is not panicking despite having a horrific first two weeks and only scoring two touchdowns while committing four turnovers. Now that they got playing against some of the best defenses in the league out of the way, it's time to see if they can find a way to execute against a less dominant defense or two. 

What do you think about the Steelers run game so far this season? Let us know in the comments below!

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