The Pittsburgh Steelers defense was absolutely controlled by the Baltimore Ravens rushing attack in a Week 14 loss. Head coach, John Harbuagh's team ran for 215 yards including a fourth quarter drive that was 13 plays as the 57-yard possession led to a go-ahead field goal. While the performance wasn't as impressive in Week 15, Mike Tomlin's group had 156 rushing yards and controlled the clock for over 36 minutes. The 3.6 yards per carry isn't necessarily sexy, but the offense was committed to running the football and the 45 attempts on the ground are a big reason why Pittsburgh now has six wins.
Steelers running back, Najee Harris holds his hands on his hips and looks in the distance on the field at Acrisure Stadium prior to a 2022 preseason game. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Running back, Najee Harris led the way with 86 yards and a touchdown while Jaylen Warren provided 38 yards rushing on 11 attempts and was able to find the end zone for the first time in his young career. Following the victory, one of the leaders of the offensive line and rarely talked about center, Mason Cole spoke to the media and said that his coach communicated a very clear message to the team leading up to the matchup:
"[Mike Tomlin] challenged us to eat up the clock and he challenged the defense to stop the run. I think in both of those facets we did really well today."
The methodical strategy was on incredible display to start the first half. Pittsburgh scored a touchdown on a 21-play drive in which they gained 91 yards and chewed up almost 12 full minutes of the clock. Cole admitted that he had to catch his breath and the big men up front were all pretty tired after the rare 20+ play possession:
"I’ve seen some 15-16 play drives. But 21 plays? We were kind of gassed coming to the sideline, like, how many plays is that? 21!?"
Pittsburgh Steelers center, Mason Cole (#61) prepares to snap the football to quarterback, Mitch Trubisky (#10) during a preseason game at Acrisure Stadium. | Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Cole played for the University of Michigan under former NFL player, and head coach Jim Harbaugh. He anchored a rushing attack that averaged nearly 213 yards per game during his senior year back in 2017 and compared the Steelers' ground game on Sunday to his time with the Wolverines. He said that the sibling of the coach who ran the ball down Pittsburgh's throats a week ago, would give his stamp of approval after a strong performance against the Panthers:
"Harbaugh would be proud," Cole said.
Pittsburgh has run for over 100 yards rushing in six of their last seven games and since the bye week, controlling the time of possession has been a clear goal of offensive coordinator, Matt Canada. The offense has been much more efficient and minimized turnovers with the new approach that is mainly focused on getting Harris the ball early and often in order to dictate the pace of the game.
Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator, Matt Canada smiles during practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex during the 2022 Minicamp on Tuesday, June 7, 2022. | Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Canada, who became a big name in college football years ago, is all too familiar with the idea of running the ball. He has consistently drawn criticism for his play-calling and it coming off as college-like, but it is hard to deny that, for the most part, it has helped the offense succeed since Week 9. While the likelihood of Jim Harbaugh watching Pittsburgh's game on Sunday is slim to none as he prepares for the College Football Playoff, Cole giving a subtle comparison to his dominant rushing offense in college hints that his confidence is building in the Steelers' running game.
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