1. Can’t run on Cam

Outside of leadership and intangibles, Cameron Heyward’s rise to stardom with the Pittsburgh Steelers often is recognized by his ability to rush the passer. And for good reason: Heyward’s next sack would be his 60th, which would break the franchise record for his position and move him into third place among Steelers since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. Only three active defensive tackles in the NFL have more.

But in recognizing Heyward’s play, let’s not forget about his run-stopping. Arguably, he’s been the best in the NFL at that this season.

Per Pro Football Focus grades, he absolutely has been. Heyward is by far the best-graded interior defensive tackle in run defense, and he tops all defenders who have played at least 95 snaps against the run this season. PFF reports no player has more tackles this season without a missed tackle, and Heyward joins teammate Chris Wormley as the only defensive linemen in the NFL this season with a forced fumble in the running game.

ESPN corroborates PFF’s evaluation, rating Heyward as tied for fourth in the NFL in “run stop win rate” (44%). Footballoutsiders.com rates the Steelers’ defensive line as ninth in the league against the run. Heyward is the only projected Steelers starter at the position who is healthy this season.

Heyward’s 161 tackles over the past three seasons lead the NFL among defensive linemen.

If Cameron Heyward can play a few more seasons, he could end up as one of the most experienced #Steelers in franchise history.https://t.co/qWzDh7jeiX

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) September 4, 2021

2. New era

This season is continuing the trend across the NFL: This is a high-scoring, offense-first era. The 424 offensive touchdowns scored over the first five weeks of the season are the second-most through that time period for season in league history, trailing only last season (436). The past four seasons have been the four most touchdown-heavy seasons through five weeks in NFL history.

The Steelers appear to be bucking that trend. Only once since 2006 did they average fewer yards per play than they have the past three seasons (5.2 this season, 5.1 last season and 4.7 in 2019).

Big Ben’s ability to sway the back-side Safety, created a zone void for WR Chase Claypool’s vertical seam route on this Red Zone TD play. @NFLMatchup expert @GregCosell gives us the in-depth breakdown here as they prepare for the #seahawks on SNF. #NFL #HereWeGo | @MattBowen41 pic.twitter.com/fkIPQK5Fgv

— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) October 16, 2021

3. Well-slotted

The loss of JuJu Smith-Schuster not only removes the Steelers’ most-tenured wide receiver, it removes the one who took on the specialized role of running routes out of the slot.

Dating to last season and according to PFF, 116 of the Steelers’ 172 passes (67.4%) to a receiver who began his route in the slot were targeted at Smith-Schuster. Chase Claypool has the second-most such throws with 20.

The encouraging news is the Steelers have had success with Claypool in the slot. The passer rating when quarterbacks throw to Claypool (132.8) is better than on throws to Smith-Schuster (109.6) — albeit in a much smaller sample size. No other Steelers receiver has a thrown-to passer rating higher than 100.0.

Steelers RB Najee Harris believes the team can’t be trapped into thinking that their running game woes – they still are ranked No. 31 – are fixed because of what transpired against the Broncos. https://t.co/zTrzv3H2Ws

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) October 16, 2021

4. No stacked box

Much has been made about improvement in the production of the Steelers’ running game in recent weeks, and it’s valid. But context is needed in that it appears opposing defenses have no intent on focusing on the Najee Harris-led rushing attack.

Among the 47 NFL running backs who have at least 30 carries this season, only two have faced a defensive front with “eight men in the box” less often than Harris, per Next Gen Stats. Harris is seeing eight defenders within close proximity of the line of scrimmage on 7.69% of plays. Only Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Myles Gaskin see such fronts less often.

For comparison, here are the eight-men-in-the-box rates for some prominent NFL running backs: 41.55% for Derrick Henry, 42.31% for Christian McCaffrey, 31.34% for Austin Ekeler, 26.6% for Alvin Kamara. The low percentage could, at least in part, be a signal opponents have no fear of the Steelers’ running game.

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