Mike's Beer Bar War Room: Steelers need to ride the wave again

Najee Harris was on a mission in Seattle.

The Steelers racked up a season-high 468 yards from scrimmage and they greatly consolidated the touches, as just five different skill position players, and only two wide receivers, touched the football on the road. The Steelers wanted their best offensive players -- Harris, Jaylen Warren, George Pickens, Diontae Johnson and Pat Freiermuth -- as the ones touching the ball. And it was Harris that did most of the heavy lifting.

The Steelers handed Harris the football 27 times, and he grinded out 122 rushing yards and two touchdowns. With a long run of 23 yards, Harris’ other 26 carries produced just under 100 tough, highly effective and very well-earned yards. 

This is all power and desire by Harris as he gets the football across the goal line to give the Steelers a 17-14 lead. The Steelers have heavy personnel on the field, something they did a lot on Sunday, and just gave the ball to their big back right up the middle. Harris did the rest. 

That isn’t to imply that the Steelers' offensive line and peripheral blockers didn’t do their job. They certainly did and this was an excellent team blocking game overall. Broderick Jones and Isaac Seumalo stood out most in this regard, but it was a very strong group effort by those paving the way for Harris and of course, Warren, who more than did his part as well with 75 rushing yards and a touchdown on his 13 carries.

Just based off EPA (Expected Points Added) in Week 17, only James Conner and Aaron Jones gave their respective teams more than Harris. And Warren wasn’t far behind, finishing as the 10th-best running back in Week 17. 

But this was Harris’ day. He was punishing. He was brutal. He was determined. Harris made every one of his rushing attempts count and abused a very suspect Seattle run defense. Which, in turn, kept the Seahawks' offense off the field. 

The Steelers ran 22 more plays than Seattle in Week 17 and possessed the football for 37:33 on the road. Pittsburgh’s defense was only on the field for 49 snaps, and they didn’t have to dig deep into their depth on this side of the ball. Markus Golden and Nick Herbig combined to play just 11 highly-effective snaps. Montravius Adams, Armon Watts and Isaiahh Loudermilk combined to play just 21 snaps because Cam Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi and Keanu Benton simply didn’t need many breathers.

The result, of course, was a huge Steelers win and their playoff chances remain very much alive. Getting to the postseason will start with winning in Baltimore against what will presumably be a watered-down version of an elite Ravens team. But warning: In the NFL, it isn’t easy to totally rest a team. This won’t be a preseason version of the Ravens. Baltimore will be forced to play much of their starting offensive line and can only rest so many players overall.

Baltimore has scored 30 more touchdowns than they have allowed this season and have created 56 more first downs. They average 2.2 more yards per pass attempt than they allow and are plus-20 in sack differential. The Ravens have 21 more rushing touchdowns than they have allowed and average 0.5 yards per carry more than they give up. 

Baltimore’s defense allows just 16.4 points per game, the best in the NFL. They are also first in sacks and takeaways. Baltimore is second in the league in red zone scoring and touchdown percentage allowed, as well in total yards allowed per game (302.1) and passing yards allowed per game (195.6). In terms of offensive points per game, Baltimore has faced the very best in the league in the Dolphins (first), 49ers (third), and Lions (fifth). 

Note: Baltimore’s offense is second so that wasn’t an option. And in these three games, the Ravens outscored their opponents 127-44. 

Even without Lamar Jackson, who is in line to win his second MVP award, and other prominent Ravens, it won’t be easy for the Steelers on Saturday at 4:30 pm.

To get that crucial win to finish out the 2023 regular season and bring the Steelers to 10-7, Harris and the ground game will once again be a critical component, as it has been all season long. While Baltimore is a juggernaut on the NFL’s longest winning streak, one aspect of their play of late might be worrisome to head coach John Harbaugh: The run defense.

The Steelers averaged just 2.9 yards per rushing attempt against Baltimore earlier this season but did have 30 rushing attempts in that game. But since Week 10 against Cleveland, the Ravens' run defense has allowed 878 yards on the ground (125.4 per game). During those most recent seven games, Baltimore’s opponents have averaged 5.2 yards per carry.

Harris also shows the ability to turn the corner and get to the outside, even though that isn’t his specialty. But his specialty, of course, is beating up on would-be tacklers, something he shows here without question. Harris also demonstrates great balance on this run, as many ball carriers around the league would have been on the ground much earlier in this rush attempt.

Harris and Warren have combined for 329 carries for 1,514 rushing touchdowns and nine touchdowns. They have combined to catch 80 passes for 502 receiving yards. They are one of the unquestioned best pair of teammates at this position in the NFL and they play off one another extremely well.

This Warren touchdown run was very well blocked from the get-go. But it is also apparent from this clip that Warren’s acceleration and lateral agility is a fantastic complement to Harris’ bruising style.

Two weeks ago, Harris’ 19 touches tied his season high. Last week, Harris touched the ball 27 times, all rushing attempts. He’s scored three touchdowns over those two games. Will he be up for the challenge once again in Week 18? Judging off his efforts in Seattle, the obvious answer to that question is a resounding yes.