In their first three games, the Steelers have had a running back go over 100 yards rushing all three times, once with Benny Snell and twice with James Conner, including the latter going for 109 yards on 18 carries in Sunday's 28-21 win over the Texans at Heinz Field.
The Steelers haven't just run out of the gate, they've sprinted out.
After Snell went for more than 100 yards in the opener against the Giants, the naysayers dismissed the effort because Conner got injured and it came against the lowly Giants.
With Conner last week against the Broncos, the 100-yard game was dismissed because he broke off a 59-yard run late in the game with the Steelers sitting on the ball running out the clock -- like those yards didn't matter or weren't important.
Sunday against the Texans, the running game produced 169 yards on 38 carries. It was 109 yards from Conner on 18 carries, with 70 of those yards coming in the second half on just nine carries. It was rookie Anthony McFarland producing 42 yards on his first six NFL carries. It was Snell bruising his way to 11 yards on seven short-yardage carries, helping the Steelers go 10 for 20 on possession downs.
Yes, the Texans had been bad against the run in their first two games. They entered the game having given up 198 yards rushing per game. But 230 of that had come in Week 2 against the Ravens, so the numbers were a bit skewed.
The Steelers ran the ball on reverses. They ran counters. They ran sweeps. They ran out of power formations. And they ran the Texans right out of Heinz Field, with Conner and Snell gaining 71 yards on 11 carries in the fourth quarter prior to Ben Roethlisberger taking three knees to end game and losing four yards in the process.
No matter the numbers, the Steelers have run the ball when they have needed to run the ball in this first month of the season. And that is what has Mike Tomlin smiling.
"It's been critical because all of these games are close," Tomlin said. "Everything in the National Football League is a one-score game. So, your ability in the waning moments to possess the ball and not put your defense back in harm's way (is important), to win the critical possession downs, be it run or play-action."
No doubt.
Despite the use of many backs throughout the course of this game, it was largely Conner carrying the load when it mattered most. The oft-injured running back showed Sunday why the Steelers are so intent on keeping him as the primary back. The other guys work well in supplemental roles. But it's Conner that drives this backfield not only because of his ability to run and pick up tough yards, but because of the things he does in the passing game, as well, both catching the ball and blocking.
"James is our featured runner," Tomlin said. "I've mentioned that repeatedly. It doesn't mean we won't play others, but it does mean as we distribute carries, and particularly as we find our rhythm in the game, usually that means that would be him, unless somebody else has an unusually hot hand. And we don't care who gets the credit or who makes the plays."
The Steelers are averaging just under 140 rushing yards per game after their first three games. They had more than 100 yards rushing in just five total games in 2019, when Roethlisberger was out for all but six quarters.
And that was the other part of their game Sunday that was impressive. When the Texans loaded up to stop the run on some of those fourth quarter plays, the Steelers simply checked to a short passing play to convert the first down.
"If they were going to go zero (coverage), I mean they were going to goal line defenses and things of that nature, you can't run the ball into that," Tomlin said. "So, we had some (run-pass) options. We trust Ben. We trust our run game. We're not going to allow people to cheat to that extent where they've got a goal-line defense (on the field) in open grass."
This is a much more dangerous offense when that's happening.
Some will make a big deal out of the fact the Steelers haven't scored 30 or more points in their past 23 games. And while that's true, they could have easily scored more than 30 Sunday against the Texans, choosing instead to take a knee to close out the game. They did the same thing against the Broncos last week.
Besides, the last time they actually scored 30 points, back in Week 13 of 2018 against the Chargers, they lost that game 33-30. So scoring 30 points isn't some magical number.
The idea is to do what you need to do to win the game. The Steelers have done that in their first three outings this season. And the running game has been a big part of that.
• Deshaun Watson is good. So it wasn't a huge surprise he had some success in the first half throwing the ball. He was breaking contain in the pocket and throwing back across the grain to hurt the Steelers in the first two quarters as receivers were sitting down in the seams in the zone defense.
The Steelers were concerned for obvious reasons about Watson's ability to run the ball.
"You play man-to-man versus this guy on possession downs and he could run for 100 yards himself," Tomlin said.
So, the Steelers primarily played zone defense in the first half. Not all the time, mind you, but a lot. In the second half, they mixed things up -- as they normally do -- and took the chance that their pass rushers would keep Watson in the pocket.
You can't, after all, be concerned with what a player might do to beat you. You do, however, have to adjust to the things that he is doing to beat you.
• The Steelers are 3-0 for the first time since 2010. It's surprisingly just the ninth time in their history that they've started 3-0.
The past seven times they started 3-0, they have made the playoffs. Three times when they have started 3-0, they've gone to the Super Bowl, winning it in 1978 and 1979.
The only time they started 3-0 and didn't make the playoffs came in 1936. And they weren't even the Steelers back then. They were still called the Pittsburgh Pirates. And we all know the Pirates can't make the playoffs, no matter how good their start.
• I'm all for Jaylen Samuels never getting another carry in a Steelers uniform. That doesn't mean he can't be used in some passing down situations if Conner is injured. But McFarland has shown he can do some of that, as well.
Nope, now that I think about it, Samuels should only be used if the other backs are all hurt.
His run on third-and-2 in the first quarter should have picked up the first down. It was blocked up to get the first down. He got one yard.
And he's just not dynamic enough in the passing game that he absolutely has to play.
• Eric Ebron said last week he had never before started a season 2-0. So you can imagine his excitement at starting 3-0 this season.
In fact, Ebron and Joe Haden had a little moment together after this game as the team was running into the tunnel afterward. They did a little high step off the field together.
Ebron was a big part of the offense Sunday, catching five passes for a team-high 52 yards and a touchdown. It was more catches than he had combined in the first two weeks. And a couple of those catches in this one came on third downs, showing Roethlisberger trusts him.
He was a major factor in this game. And Roethlisberger has now thrown touchdown passes to five different players in the first three games.
• Anyone who was questioning why the Steelers kept Chuks Okorafor at right tackle instead of sliding Matt Feiler back to right tackle and playing rookie Kevin Dotson at left guard need only turn on the tape of this game and watch Okorafor stymie J.J. Watt time and again.
The third-year offensive tackle had a great game against the Texans, winning a matchup that hasn't gone quite as well for plenty of other young players. Watt is still very good. But he was pretty silent in this game.
• The Texans ran 17 plays in the second half of this game. That's not a misprint.
On those 17 plays, they gained 51 yards and had two first downs.. That's an average of 3 yards per play.
Yes, the defense gave up some plays in the first half. But the Steelers adjusted. That's what good defenses do because you're just not going to shut anyone down in today's NFL, especially not when the other team has a superstar quarterback such as Watson.
It's even more difficult when there's not a single holding penalty called. I highlighted this last week and I'll do so again after this game. Through three games, the Steelers' opponents have yet to commit a holding penalty. Not one.
And that's happened against a team that added five more sacks and 12 more quarterback hits to its ledger Sunday.
But hey, the Steelers were called for just two penalties Sunday. That means the Texans' opponents this season have committed just six penalties.
The Texans have now played the Chiefs, Ravens and Steelers. And those three teams have been called for six penalties. As if beating those teams wasn't hard enough.
• Diontae Johnson made another mistake in the kicking game, calling for a fair catch of a punt at his own 5.
As good as Johnson is in the return game, he's prone to make some mistakes out there, as well.
With Johnson now dealing with a concussion, it might be a good time to make the switch to Ray-Ray McCloud as the punt returner. McCloud hasn't shown his previous propensity to put the ball on the ground that he showed in his previous stops in Buffalo and Carolina, where he had five fumbles in limited playing time.
McCloud has been good in the return game, and he should stay there -- at least until he makes a big mistake.
• We still haven't seen the best of Roethlisberger just yet. He's still missing some throws he typically has made in the past.
But it's those plays that he's making above the neck that make the difference. He's getting the Steelers into and out of good and bad plays. At no time was that more apparent than in the fourth quarter of this game.
As much as that fourth quarter was about the Steelers' running game, it also was about Roethlisberger and offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner winning the chess match with Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, as well.
Things like a quick throw to James Washington.
That was something the Steelers were absolutely missing last season. They just couldn't trust Mason Rudolph or Devlin Hodges to run the run-pass options they had Roethlisberger performing in this game. With those young quarterbacks, it was run the play that was called or nothing else.
That's a throw Roethlisberger could make in his sleep.
• Remember when Vince Williams in the starting lineup was going to be an issue for the Steelers? Well, Williams had two more tackles for a loss against the Texans, giving him a league-best eight in the first three games. Williams also added his second sack of the season.
The Steelers slammed the door on Houston's running game, limiting the Texans to 29 yards on 15 carries. That's the same amount of rushing yards they allowed in Week 1 against the Giants.
Even with the 104 rushing yards the Broncos picked up in Week 2, the Steelers are allowing 54 yards rushing per game.
That will be important this week with a matchup looming against 2019 rushing champion Derrick Henry.