The Steelers need to be a team that runs the ball effectively. After struggling to be efficient throughout the first four weeks of the season, this offense had a golden opportunity to feast on the ground against a weakened defense. Instead, they turned in their lowest output on the ground in a 20-17 loss to the Cowboys.
Coming into this game, Dallas' defense ranked 26th in rush defense and rush success rate against, and ranked dead last in rush EPA against. And, they were without their two best players in the front seven, Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence. Less than 100 yards and only 3.5 yards per carry is a failure.
What happened? What is the game plan? The offensive line? And, since Najee Harris is the only healthy running back they've got, was it him?
I dove into all 14 of Harris' carries for this week's Chalk Talk. It's a bit lengthy, but you can see the break downs across the board, including a huge opportunity missed on a crack toss in the fourth quarter:
First, let's get some details as to why the game plan might not have been great.
Coming into this game, the Cowboys were giving up 5.23 yards per carry against inside zone concepts, and only giving up 4.0 yards per carry against outside zone. Both aren't the best numbers, but clearly the Cowboys had struggled more against inside zone. And, despite the Steelers' struggles to run the ball efficiently over the first four weeks of the season, they were most effective running inside zone, averaging 4.47 yards per carry. And, Harris was also most efficient running inside zone, averaging 5.42 yards per carry.
In this game, the Steelers decided to stubbornly attack Dallas with predominantly outside zone concepts. According to FantasyPoints.com, 15 of the 26 rushing attempts were outside zone concepts, and they averaged just 3.6 yards per carry on those attempts. The Steelers ran inside zone just four times, and they averaged just 3.75 yards per carry. Two of those inside zone carries were to Harris, and he gained eight yards on those.
This is failure across the board. Dallas had a specific weakness, and it just so happened to align with what the Steelers were doing most efficiently on the ground. They chose to not shift their scheme and remained stubborn to run the outside zone concepts. In addition, there was failure on the field. The offensive line just wasn't good in this game, specifically Broderick Jones. They lost far too many battles up front, schemes be damned.
The one who probably deserves the least blame is Harris, at least for this game. Listen, his running style isn't nearly explosive enough for this type of scheme, which is probably why the Steelers were hesitant and ultimately decided not to pick up his fifth-year option. That much is showing up on film. And he doesn't always make the right decision when running zone. But, it's not like he's got acres of land on which to gallop. The offensive line is simply losing up front, and there was a consistent culprit in this game. That's not on the running back.
Whatever it takes, this running game has to be fixed. Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith need to be open to all solutions to get the running game going, even if that means more passes on early downs. Teams are going to sell out for the run. How can this team counter it?
The Raiders are the next opportunity to get something going. The benefit of the doubt is now gone after the Dallas game. They should have manhandled the Cowboys on the ground, and they just didn't do it. Let's see if two losses spokes any change.
