The Pittsburgh Steelers experienced the Houston Texans dismantling them, 30-6 on Sunday. Houston showcasd a balanced offense that was effective due to a commitment to the running game. Pittsburgh set their season-high on the ground with 114 yards, but was out-gained by Houston who totaled 139 yards. Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada alluded to making some changes in that area before the blowout against the Texans, but one of his players said that the team needs to stick to it.
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Steelers center Mason Cole stands ready to snap the ball to Mitch Trubisky during the 2022 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Pittsburgh center, Mason Cole is looked at as a veteran leader on the offense. He spoke with the media following Sunday's contest and gave the overall assessment that the team is playing inefficient, bad football, but added that there were some good spurts. He specifically pointed to the run game as an area where he saw some elements he liked.
"There are times when we run the ball really well," he said. "Then we have one negative run that will scare us away from it. We're behind the chains, trying to catch up and in bad situations."
Pittsburgh started the game with a solid effort to establish the run after Houston had drained 6:05 off the clock on a 12-play scoring drive. Najee Harris had a pair of runs for seven yards, receiver, Calvin Austin III ran for five yards, and Kenny Pickett gained eight yards on a scramble. Pickett added another yard on a quarterback sneak before throwing an interception while trying to hit Austin deep.
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Steelers running back Jaylen Warren gets ready to stiffarm against the Cleveland Browns.
Trailing 13-0, Pittsburgh almost abandoned the run entirely. Harris had three carries in the rest of the first half, with two of them gaining 11 yards on back-to-back carries after Pittsburgh's defense had forced a turnover on downs. Jaylen Warren didn't carry the ball at all in the first half, but had a couple of catches out of the backfield.
Pittsburgh started the second half with a bigger commitment to running the football and getting Harris in rhythm. He opened the third quarter with a 15-yard carry, turning what initially looked like a negative play into a positive one by breaking a tackle. After one negative play, the team took to the air for the next two plays before giving it to Warren.
Warren had his biggest rush of the game on a second down and six when he broke free for an 18-yard gain. Harris went back in and picked up eight yards to put the team in a manageable third and two. Unfortunately, Warren wasn't able to pick up the first and Pittsburgh settled for a field goal.
Steelers' Cole Isn't Ready To Press The Panic Button
There have been some good things in the run game, but the biggest problem has been consistency. The team has struggled to get things going early on in games. It has plagued the team in every game and was highlighted against Houston with no points, an interception along with four punts in the first half.
Karl Rosser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers running back Najee Harris tries to evade a Houston Texans tackler during their Week 4 contest in 2023.
Pittsburgh's center thinks that they can take away some of the good things they've been doing when they do commit to establishing the run to help the offense move forward. He added that there's potential there.
"There hasn't been panic," Cole said. "We know how good we can be. For whatever reason, we're starting slow. We can't do things efficiently and consistently well enough."
Pittsburgh had front-row viewing of what teams can do when they have an effective running game as they lost on Sunday. The team will need to get this run game going if they hope to hang as a contender.
What did you think of the run game against the Texans? Do you agree with Cole that they need to have a stronger commitment? Comment below!
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