Running game finds footing, executes in red zone to help Steelers defeat Rams

Through five-and-a-half games — or 22 quarters — the Pittsburgh Steelers were still searching for their first rushing touchdown.

In the span of 30 minutes Sunday, they got three, all the touchdowns they produced at SoFi Stadium in a 24-17 victory against the Los Angeles Rams.

Kenny Pickett started it off with a 1-yard sneak into the end zone early in the third quarter. Jaylen Warren had a 13-yard touchdown run, and Najee Harris scored on a 3-yard burst to help bring the Steelers back from a 17-10 deficit.

“Hopefully, now it goes down like water,” Harris said.

Until the second half, the running game was as easy to swallow as gasoline.

Entering the game, the Steelers had the No. 28-ranked rushing offense, and a predictable start occurred against the Rams. At halftime, the Steelers totaled 29 yards rushing on 10 attempts. Thanks to the work done in the final two quarters, the Steelers finished with 86 yards. Harris and Warren combined for 85 on 20 attempts, a respectable 4.25 per-carry average.

In the fourth quarter alone, Harris and Warren rushed for 54 yards on 11 carries.

“As the game went on, it felt like things eased up a bit,” center Mason Cole said. “We were able to get the run game going.”

And with it, the Steelers had uncharacteristic success inside the red zone. After converting 2 of 7 chances into touchdowns over the first five games, the Steelers were 3 of 3 against the Rams.

“Red zone execution is significant and important,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “It’s good to run the ball into the end zone. I like the energy they displayed. … When you’re playing good people, field goals will get you beat, and we understand that.”

Related:

• Steelers vs. Rams: What they're saying in Los Angeles after loss
• Diontae Johnson returns helps spark Steelers in productive 4th quarter of win over Rams
• Steelers rally in 2nd half, inch past Rams to keep pace in AFC North

During the bye week, Harris asked Cole to watch film with him to break down all the Steelers runs from the first five games. He said some of those runs were tailored to counter a Rams front that featured three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald.

“Certain runs don’t work against that defense because they stack the box a lot,” Harris said. “This was just the runs that work against this team, that would hit against this defense. This week was a lot of power. We did that, ran a little outside zone, too. We got guys moving, and it created some vertical holes.”

An example was Warren’s 13-yard touchdown run. Warren took the pitch from Pickett, saw holes created by guards James Daniels and Isaac Seumalo, then made a cutback that enabled him to reach the end zone while barely being touched.

“The extra time off was good for us,” Warren said. “We came back and looked at the tendencies, capitalized on that. We came out and fixed them and put it on display.”

Donald finished with four unassisted tackles. On Harris’ touchdown, Pickett moved from the shotgun to under center, took the snap and handed it off. Harris ran to the left, avoiding Donald while diving into the end zone.

“We were going to have schematics to make him not have an impact on the game, and I thought we did,” Cole said. “Certain times it hurt us because we worried about him a little too much. We got the job done and didn’t let him ruin the game.”

Harris laughed when asked whether the Steelers intentionally tried to avoid Donald.

“We were running away from that (expletive) all game. Hell, yeah,” he said.

After the bye week last year, the Steelers found a resurgence in their running game, and they averaged 146 rushing yards in the final nine games. They didn’t get off to that kind of roll against the Rams. In fact, they finished with one fewer rushing yard than they had before the bye against Baltimore.

Still, the way the Steelers ran the ball in the fourth quarter was viewed as a sign of progress.

“The plan is to keep the energy we have now,” Harris said. “Everybody is smiling. This is a big road win. This camaraderie we have right now, we have to keep the energy, this buzz, this mentality over the next week and execute like we did today.”