The best offenses in football perform well even when the defense might know what's coming. It's known as imposing your will on the opposition.
In order for the running game to be more effective, the Steelers were going to have to get to that point. And over the past two and a half games, they've done just that.
In fact, if you look over the past three games, the Steelers have averaged 154.3 yards per game on the ground, highlighted by an output of 217 yards in a 20-10 win over the Saints in Week 10. A key component of that has been Najee Harris looking more and more like the rookie running back out of Alabama one season ago.
During that span, Harris has gained 221 yards on 49 rushing attempts, an average of 4.5 yards per carry. In the seven games prior, Harris averaged only 3.3 yards per carry.
What's more, the Steelers have become much more successful in running the ball on first down -- a down where most teams expect more runs than passes. On the first three scoring drives this past Sunday against the Bengals, Harris averaged 4.2 yards per carry on first downs.
For the season, Harris has averaged 3.9 yards per carry on 92 first-down carries this season.
"I think it shows our physicality of how we want the game to be," Harris said. We know and that you guys know our tendencies and stuff. Now it just comes down to, 'Can you stop it?' and our bigs are better than your bigs. It's the competitive nature that the Steelers organization has and they've had for years."
In other words, impose your will on the other team. When they want to run the ball, they'll be able to run it successfully. Same with the passing game. It's not happened nearly as quickly as the Steelers or its fans would like for it to, but the growth on first-down running is a great sign that the running game is coming together.
"It's obviously good for us to do that," Harris said. "We're trying to stack bricks and keep going in the right direction."
As we've all seen over the past several days, the difficult part is to not become too predictable.
"We've got to continue to be balanced and be sound on first and second downs. We study all of those things," Matt Canada said Thursday. "We've got to continue to run the football on first and second down. We haven't been heavy. We're not running it 70 percent of the time. If we're doing that, it's because you want to run the ball, you want to control the clock. There's complimentary football that sometimes you want to get and go do against a high-powered offense. It just depends."
The Steelers' offensive line has obviously played a role in the ground game's recent success, a continuity has been a key part in that. Outside of Mason Cole missing some time in games this season because of a foot issue, the Steelers have had the same five linemen start each of their 10 games. That can't be understated, and it's been something the line hasn't taken for granted as they've grown together.
"We feel like we're so much better than we were then -- in the run game, the passing game, protection-wise, technique-wise," Cole told me a couple weeks ago. "We've had 10 weeks together now in stadium. I feel like we've grown a lot."
Of all the things Canada said Thursday that'll make your eyes roll, his synopsis of why the running game has worked as of late sums it up pretty well.
"It's a combination of everything," Canada said. "The line is gelling. They're getting work together. The tight ends are doing a good job. I think Najee is back to full strength. He'd probably tell you that. You see a difference in his approach as he attacks the line and those things. It's a combination of everything. But it's moving in the direction we want it the last couple of weeks."
The Steelers did well against the Saints and Bengals, but they will be tested greatly against the Colts on Monday night. Indianapolis allows just 3.8 yards per carry this season, making the Colts one of the two teams in the NFL who give up fewer yards per attempt than the Steelers' 3.9 yards per carry.
"Our running game is getting better, but we're playing one of the highest-ranked defenses in the league this week," Canada said. "They're good at everything. It will be a real challenge for us."
But, the Steelers remain optimistic that the bye week was the turning point in getting this running game going. In turn, if the running game can remain successful, it should open things up in the passing game. Kenny Pickett has been better over the past two games, especially at not forcing passes and throwing interceptions.
That's probably not a coincidence.
At 3-7, it's all but guaranteed the Steelers won't clinch a spot in the playoffs. But, the groundwork is being laid for a young offense to establish its identity. And, as the offense continues to grow, the running game has emerged as the catalyst for future success.
"It was our first time scoring 30 points. So, there was some good in that," Harris said of the most recent performance. "Obviously, we lost. But, we scored 30 points. We executed a lot more. We still had a lot of missed assignments, but we're going in the right direction. I think we did a good job of coming out of the bye week heading in the right direction. Obviously, it takes time. We're heading up that road. We've just gotta keep focusing on it, keeping our head down and keep working."
MORE FROM THE SOUTH SIDE
• Having a dome stadium, the Colts have artificial turf. While turf is wildly unpopular among many NFL players, Harris doesn't mind it one bit. He's actually looking forward to playing on it Monday night.
"I like playing on turf better, just me personally," Harris said. "In Alabama, we always called it the Mercedes-Benz because we played there a lot, the (SEC) championship games obviously. So we'd call that a home game for us. We loved playing there. For me, to play in another indoor stadium takes me back to college where I liked playing indoors."
Harris said he likes the turf because he grips it better as a bigger running back, which allows him to make cuts easier than he can on grass.
When asked about any concerns about playing on turf, Harris refused to entertain the question.
"That's not really a question I want to answer. Injuries can happen literally at any time," Harris said with a smile. "I don't want to jinx myself."
When pushed again about any concerns, he just laughed, shook his head and said, "I don't want to answer that."
• In my story on areas where Pickett needs to improve, I provided this play as an example for how his vision downfield can improve while scrambling or running outside the pocket:
I initially thought Diontae Johnson was running an out route, then improvised to break upfield and sit in the window in zone.
After talking over this play with Johnson, turns out this is a designed out-and-up route on a quarterback scramble. I'm no offensive coordinator, but that's a route that takes quite a while to develop when Pickett should have options as soon as possible after the play-action fake.
Johnson did tell me once he recognized zone coverage, he did turn around and sit in the window to try and give Pickett somewhere to throw, so I wasn't completely off base. I guess I gave too much credit to the design of the play.
• As we previously reported, Alex Highsmith is the Steelers' nominee for the 2022 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. When asked about it during his Friday media availability, Cam Heyward jokingly responded, "He is?! Oh my gosh..."
He then gave Highsmith some pretty high praise.
"Alex is a good human being," Heyward said. "The way he plays the game, the way he respects his opponents, the way he's there for his teammates. He's a guy you can count on. I'd love to see him win the award."
• DeMarvin Leal made some positive impressions on fans and players while helping fill in during T.J. Watt's absence. He didn't produce a ton of results (nine tackles, no sacks), but did manage to record three passes defended while bouncing back and forth between the inside and outside.
Leal is currently working his way back from knee surgery and has a chance to return this season. If and when he is activated from injured reserve, he'll help deepen a defensive front that's been better than it was a year ago, but still needs to find more consistency. As for what his return could look like, it'll be different than it was before now that the Steelers have the reigning Defensive Player of the Year back on the field.
"We can't put a lot on that kid's shoulders yet. He's gotta continue to keep learning, keep growing," Heyward said of Leal. "I saw growth every week. I saw him want to get better. Obviously, we're not doing the same things now that T.J.'s back. He's gotta continue to keep growing in our system."
• Miles Boykin (oblique), Mason Cole (foot), T.J. Watt (vet rest), Cam Heyward (vet rest) and Larry Ogunjobi (vet rest) returned to practice Friday. Boykin and Cole were limited. Jaylen Warren (hamstring) and Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring) did not practice for the second day in a row.
In addition, Robert Spillane (back), James Daniels (groin) and Connor Heyward (sick) are new additions to Friday's injury report that we'll need to track on Saturday. With this week's game coming on Monday night, the final injury report will come out after Saturday's practice.
• Calvin Austin was back in the locker room again Friday. He wasn't in a walking boot this time, but was moving around the locker room with a knee walker/scooter to keep all the weight off his left foot.
