Standing on the soggy sidelines at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday night, David DeCastro had time on his hands, the right one of which was still broken.
But the injured All-Pro right guard could sense the frustration starting to build in James Conner. Understandably so.
Unlike the previous week when they were forced to abandon the run game after going down 21 points early to Kansas City, the Steelers held a commanding 30-10 lead at the half against Tampa Bay. But that was only due in large part to Ben Roethlisberger's 284 passing yards.
Conner? The Steelers' running back had been stuck in the mud, rushing for just nine yards on six carries -- 1.5 per carry -- in the first half.
"'Hey, you can't force it, it's going to come when it comes,'" DeCastro told Conner. "That's how it happened in the fourth quarter. It was cool to see him break out and win the game and seal it up there in the end."
Indeed, Conner ended up with a respectable 61 rushing yards to put the finishing touches on a much-needed 30-27 win. However, 44 of those came on two carries in the final 5:43, including a 27 yarder where he's finally brought down by former Pitt teammate Jordan Whitehead:
What have we learned about the Steelers running game and its featured back through three weeks?
"We've had our moments," Mike Tomlin was saying. "I like the way we ran the ball at the end (vs. Tampa Bay) when you had to run it.
"Probably not a big enough body of work to paint with a broad brush, but we've done it when we needed to do it. I'm sure we're going to do it more when the opportunity presents itself. Right now we're just focused on utilizing all the weapons in our offense and keeping people off balance and the chains moving fluidly."
Indeed, the Steelers have been moving the chains quite routinely through the air. They are ranked No. 2 in both total offense (453.3) and passing offense (363.3), while Roethlisberger has thrown for 300-plus yards in each of the first three games this season, the first time he's done that in his career.
However, the Steelers' run game is ranked just 23rd in the league, averaging 90.0 yards per game. And even that number is a bit skewed when you consider the 159 rushing yards they put up in Week 1 vs. Cleveland.
"We just have to stay with it," Conner was telling me. "Some weeks we're going to run well, some weeks we just have to have patience early."
This week should present a chance for Conner and the Steelers to establish the run game and, get this, stick with it.
Baltimore boasts the NFL's top ranked defense, allowing just 273.0 yards per game, but the strength of the Ravens defense clearly lies in its secondary. Against the run, the Ravens are ranked a pedestrian 13th, allowing 103.7 on the ground.
On yet another primetime stage, Conner has an opportunity to build off last week's strong finish and to remind everyone outside the Rooney Complex that the Steelers can get by without He Who Shall Not Be Named.
On Tuesday, Tomlin sternly said he's "Not talking Le'Veon. I'm just not." The coach's words and attitude mirror that of the Steelers' locker room where Le'Veon Bell has morphed from the "best all-around running back" to persona non grata in the span of a month.
Needless to say, there are more than a few people on South Water Street openly rooting for Conner to succeed.
"It's the next man-up mentality," said Marcus Gilbert, who should be healthy for Week 4 along with DeCastro. "I know it's a cliche, but guys like Matt Feiler did it. B.J. Finney's done it. That's what's expected from us, James too. Whenever you put that black and gold on, it's a standard that fans hold you to, teammates hold you to, and coaches hold you to. You have to ante up."
Despite averaging just 39 rushing yards in Weeks 2 and 3, the 23-year-old Conner has anted up when called upon. He is the NFL's seventh-leading rusher and tops in the AFC with 213 yards.
The second-year running back is second to only Todd Gurley in touches (69) and eighth in yards from scrimmage (352). That's an average of 23 touches and 117.3 yards per game.
To put that into context, Bell averaged 27 touches and 129.7 yards in 2017 when he was All-Pro last season. In 2014, perhaps Bell's finest season, he averaged 23.3 touches and 138.5.
The workload is nothing he can't handle, Conner says. How many touches would he like?
"Nothing specific," he says. "It's just however the game flows."
Though he may have been frustrated by his inability to gain traction in the run game in Tampa, it wasn't as if he was ineffective.
The Steelers have been more than willing to employ him in the passing game. The Steelers have used him as a receiver out of the backfield, like here on a second and 9 in the first quarter:
And, here, split wide on second and 6 pass in the second quarter where QB and receiver were not on the same page:
Roethlisberger has completed 15 of 17 passes to Conner for 139 yards (9.27 per reception). Though not as athletically gifted as Bell, Conner has shown soft hands and an ability to make plays as a receiver. Against the Bucs, Conner had five catches for 34 yards. At Pitt, he never had more than four receptions in a game.
Tomlin says he isn't surprised by Conner's receiving prowess. He sees it every day in practice. DeCastro, too.
"He is gets up the field and gets yards," DeCastro said. "He just runs angry, which is fun to see as an O-lineman."
"Just trying to be available," explained Conner. "Be at the right spot, get in where I fit in. (Pass) protection first, but trying to be in the right spot at the check-downs."
Entering the season, the biggest concern surrounding Conner was his ability to pick up the blitz. The grade so far is incomplete. Roethlisberger's been sacked eight times already in three games, after averaging 19.3 over the previous three seasons.
A third quarter possession against Tampa Bay ended when Conner didn't get a chip on Jason Pierre-Paul, who then put Alejandro Villanueva on skates and into Roethlisberger, forcing a fumble that Finney recovered:
That, and his costly fumble against Cleveland in Week 1, are the only blemishes for Conner, a kid with just three starts to his name. But, in the grand scheme of things, that might be nitpicking. According to Baltimore veteran safety Eric Weddle, the Steelers aren't missing Bell too much.
"They're still explosive," Weddle said. "With Conner back there, he's a different type of back. He's an explosive, physical, downhill runner and can still catch the ball out of the backfield. They still look for him in the passing game when things aren't open. He likes to be the outlet like Le'Veon was, and still is. Just a different type of back is all.
"Le'Veon's one of the best backs in the league and Conner's up and coming and is showing that he can be a guy who can get 25-30 carries and be fine."
Gilbert believes the Cleveland game served a valuable lesson to Conner and to the Steelers. Against the Browns, the Steelers took their proverbial foot off the gas. Against Tampa, when they needed it, the Steelers were able to lean on Conner at the decisive moments to grind out their first win.
"As you see toward the end of the game, we started pressing it and pressing it and leaning on them, and they start to wear down," the big right tackle was telling me. "That's what we have to continue to do. You might not start strong, but you can finish strong."