Jaylen Warren running against the Packers on Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium.
Jaylen Warren was running away with Sunday night's game against the Packers at Acrisure Stadium. In the first half, Warren had a game-high 10 carries and a game-high 50 yards rushing, all against the NFL's No. 2-ranked rush defense. And the Steelers went into halftime with a 16-7 advantage, having dominated time of possession.
However, the Steelers lost the game, 35-25, and Warren was a non-factor in the second half, with only 12 rushing yards, totaling 62 for the night. However, the Packers weren't the team that took Warren out of the game.
"It wasn't necessarily a decision to (get away from the run)," Mike Tomlin said after the game. "We just were behind the sticks, and the game circumstances got away from us."
A closer look at how the second half played out sure is interesting. The Steelers received the kickoff to start the second half, and came out immediately with a play-action pass that wound up incomplete when Aaron Rodgers threw the ball away because nobody was open. Then, Pat Freiermuth caught a quick pass in the flat for just two yards, leading to third-and-8, and an obvious passing play. The Steelers did not convert, went three-and-out and punted the ball away.
First series: No run calls.
After the Packers scored a touchdown on their first drive of the second half, the Steelers started their next possession with a four-yard run by Warren. That kept the offense on schedule, allowing Arthur Smith to have full access to everything in his playbook. Then on second down, Rodgers hit DK Metcalf over the middle for a 24-yard gain. Then, Rodgers hit Warren for an 11-yard gain through the air.
Instead of trying to mix it up and go back to the ground, the Steelers once again tried to throw on first down. This time, Rodgers was sacked and fumbled the ball away. Fortunately, replay reversed the call on the field to an incomplete pass, allowing the Steelers to maintain possession. But once again on a second-and-10, Smith called for a quick pass to the flat, this time to Calvin Austin III. Just as they were on the quick pass to Freiermuth one possession prior, the Packers were all over it. Austin was held to no gain, leading to an obvious passing situation on third-and-10. The Steelers did not convert, and a Chris Boswell 56-yard field goal salvaged the drive to give the Steelers a 19-14 advantage.
Second series: One run call.
The Packers once again marched right down the field and scored a touchdown, taking a 22-19 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Steelers tried to answer by once again coming out throwing. And on first down, Rodgers was sacked by Micah Parsons for a loss of 10 yards. There was no way the Steelers were going to run on second-and-20, and they were put in an even worse predicament when that pass fell incomplete and set up third-and-20. The Steelers did not convert and had to punt the ball away.
Third series: No run calls.
On the first three possessions of the second half, while they led by nine points, two points and trailed by only a field goal, the Steelers ran the ball one time. Not because they were consistently behind the chains, but because they were throwing on first down all but one time. The failure of connecting on those first-down throws put the Steelers off schedule, making them one-dimensional. It was a self-inflicted wound, which was perplexing given this is what Warren did on the lone touchdown drive of the first half:
A more legitimate excuse is Isaac Seumalo leaving the game with a strained pectoral. He was on the field for the first series of the second half, but Spencer Anderson had to go from being an extra offensive lineman to filling in for Seumalo at left guard.
But, just because the jumbo package wasn't at their disposal, it shouldn't mean the offense completely abandons the run, especially while leading or if it's a one-score game.
"Didn't have (the jumbo package), but I still felt like we had opportunities to run the ball," Rodgers said after the game. "I thought Jaylen in his limited touches, again, he is a damn good runner. I thought he had a nice game."
A nice game could have been a whole lot more. The Steelers dominated time of possession in the first half at 17:48, but finished with only 28:12 for the game. And that pathetic Pittsburgh defense needed all the help it could get.
THE ASYLUM
The Big Player: Why abandon Warren?
JUSTIN K. ALLER / GETTY
Jaylen Warren running against the Packers on Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium.
Jaylen Warren was running away with Sunday night's game against the Packers at Acrisure Stadium. In the first half, Warren had a game-high 10 carries and a game-high 50 yards rushing, all against the NFL's No. 2-ranked rush defense. And the Steelers went into halftime with a 16-7 advantage, having dominated time of possession.
However, the Steelers lost the game, 35-25, and Warren was a non-factor in the second half, with only 12 rushing yards, totaling 62 for the night. However, the Packers weren't the team that took Warren out of the game.
"It wasn't necessarily a decision to (get away from the run)," Mike Tomlin said after the game. "We just were behind the sticks, and the game circumstances got away from us."
A closer look at how the second half played out sure is interesting. The Steelers received the kickoff to start the second half, and came out immediately with a play-action pass that wound up incomplete when Aaron Rodgers threw the ball away because nobody was open. Then, Pat Freiermuth caught a quick pass in the flat for just two yards, leading to third-and-8, and an obvious passing play. The Steelers did not convert, went three-and-out and punted the ball away.
First series: No run calls.
After the Packers scored a touchdown on their first drive of the second half, the Steelers started their next possession with a four-yard run by Warren. That kept the offense on schedule, allowing Arthur Smith to have full access to everything in his playbook. Then on second down, Rodgers hit DK Metcalf over the middle for a 24-yard gain. Then, Rodgers hit Warren for an 11-yard gain through the air.
Instead of trying to mix it up and go back to the ground, the Steelers once again tried to throw on first down. This time, Rodgers was sacked and fumbled the ball away. Fortunately, replay reversed the call on the field to an incomplete pass, allowing the Steelers to maintain possession. But once again on a second-and-10, Smith called for a quick pass to the flat, this time to Calvin Austin III. Just as they were on the quick pass to Freiermuth one possession prior, the Packers were all over it. Austin was held to no gain, leading to an obvious passing situation on third-and-10. The Steelers did not convert, and a Chris Boswell 56-yard field goal salvaged the drive to give the Steelers a 19-14 advantage.
Second series: One run call.
The Packers once again marched right down the field and scored a touchdown, taking a 22-19 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Steelers tried to answer by once again coming out throwing. And on first down, Rodgers was sacked by Micah Parsons for a loss of 10 yards. There was no way the Steelers were going to run on second-and-20, and they were put in an even worse predicament when that pass fell incomplete and set up third-and-20. The Steelers did not convert and had to punt the ball away.
Third series: No run calls.
On the first three possessions of the second half, while they led by nine points, two points and trailed by only a field goal, the Steelers ran the ball one time. Not because they were consistently behind the chains, but because they were throwing on first down all but one time. The failure of connecting on those first-down throws put the Steelers off schedule, making them one-dimensional. It was a self-inflicted wound, which was perplexing given this is what Warren did on the lone touchdown drive of the first half:
A more legitimate excuse is Isaac Seumalo leaving the game with a strained pectoral. He was on the field for the first series of the second half, but Spencer Anderson had to go from being an extra offensive lineman to filling in for Seumalo at left guard.
But, just because the jumbo package wasn't at their disposal, it shouldn't mean the offense completely abandons the run, especially while leading or if it's a one-score game.
"Didn't have (the jumbo package), but I still felt like we had opportunities to run the ball," Rodgers said after the game. "I thought Jaylen in his limited touches, again, he is a damn good runner. I thought he had a nice game."
A nice game could have been a whole lot more. The Steelers dominated time of possession in the first half at 17:48, but finished with only 28:12 for the game. And that pathetic Pittsburgh defense needed all the help it could get.
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