Kenneth Gainwell runs the ball in the Steelers' loss to the Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field.
Having now lost four of their last six games, the Steelers aren't doing very much right. One thing that Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith seem to have figured out is Kenneth Gainwell can play.
Like, he's much better than being just a backup to Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia. And his performance on Sunday will now be less a topic of conversation because the Steelers dropped today's game against the Bears at Soldier Field, 31-28.
Sure, there's a discussion to be had on how much Gainwell and Jaylen Warren rotate — there's no question that Warren should be treated more as a feature back. But, Gainwell once again showed the type of value he can bring to the offense.
Gainwell led the Steelers in rushing, carrying the ball 10 times for 92 yards. The biggest play of the day for the offense came on a new wrinkle to the tush push, as Connor Heyward received the snap, handed the ball to Gainwell running to the right and he took off for 55 yards:
"It's a play we just put in," Gainwell said. "We executed and we got good yards on it."
The play was initially called a touchdown, but negated after replay assist overturned the spot of the ball. Gainwell also had a 4-yard score taken off the board because of a holding call on DK Metcalf. Otherwise, Gainwell might have had two touchdowns on the day.
This is now at least the third game in which Gainwell deserves a tip of the cap. He stepped up in place of an injured Warren in Dublin, Ireland, and sparked a lifeless running game. In last week's win over the Bengals, Gainwell helped make up for Warren sustaining an injury in the middle of the game by catching seven passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns.
It's clear the Steelers have a set of running backs that can make plays happen. And today's game was the closest we've seen to a commitment to a running game being the engine that makes the offense go. But even then, there were puzzling decisions that kept that from happening.
The second half was an issue, particularly the third quarter. Not only did the Steelers have a critical turnover in the quarter, but it was the only quarter in which neither team put up any points.
"We just wanted to run the ball and do what we gotta do to get yards," Gainwell said of the Steelers' struggles to run in the second half. "There's nothing they changed."
That's true. There was a pass play on first down that led to a sack that killed one drive. There was another in which the Steelers went three-and-out after an 8-yard run by Gainwell on first down. Once again, the Steelers' issues were often self-inflicted.
With another strong performance in Sunday's game, Gainwell has shown he's worthy of earning touches. The problem remains the rotation between Warren and Gainwell making little sense. Until that gets figured out, if it ever does, we may not see this duo truly realize its potential.
THE ASYLUM
The Big Player: Gainwell's day gutted
GETTY
Kenneth Gainwell runs the ball in the Steelers' loss to the Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field.
Having now lost four of their last six games, the Steelers aren't doing very much right. One thing that Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith seem to have figured out is Kenneth Gainwell can play.
Like, he's much better than being just a backup to Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia. And his performance on Sunday will now be less a topic of conversation because the Steelers dropped today's game against the Bears at Soldier Field, 31-28.
Sure, there's a discussion to be had on how much Gainwell and Jaylen Warren rotate — there's no question that Warren should be treated more as a feature back. But, Gainwell once again showed the type of value he can bring to the offense.
Gainwell led the Steelers in rushing, carrying the ball 10 times for 92 yards. The biggest play of the day for the offense came on a new wrinkle to the tush push, as Connor Heyward received the snap, handed the ball to Gainwell running to the right and he took off for 55 yards:
"It's a play we just put in," Gainwell said. "We executed and we got good yards on it."
The play was initially called a touchdown, but negated after replay assist overturned the spot of the ball. Gainwell also had a 4-yard score taken off the board because of a holding call on DK Metcalf. Otherwise, Gainwell might have had two touchdowns on the day.
This is now at least the third game in which Gainwell deserves a tip of the cap. He stepped up in place of an injured Warren in Dublin, Ireland, and sparked a lifeless running game. In last week's win over the Bengals, Gainwell helped make up for Warren sustaining an injury in the middle of the game by catching seven passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns.
It's clear the Steelers have a set of running backs that can make plays happen. And today's game was the closest we've seen to a commitment to a running game being the engine that makes the offense go. But even then, there were puzzling decisions that kept that from happening.
The second half was an issue, particularly the third quarter. Not only did the Steelers have a critical turnover in the quarter, but it was the only quarter in which neither team put up any points.
"We just wanted to run the ball and do what we gotta do to get yards," Gainwell said of the Steelers' struggles to run in the second half. "There's nothing they changed."
That's true. There was a pass play on first down that led to a sack that killed one drive. There was another in which the Steelers went three-and-out after an 8-yard run by Gainwell on first down. Once again, the Steelers' issues were often self-inflicted.
With another strong performance in Sunday's game, Gainwell has shown he's worthy of earning touches. The problem remains the rotation between Warren and Gainwell making little sense. Until that gets figured out, if it ever does, we may not see this duo truly realize its potential.
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