'We're not executing right now': Steelers frustrated by another slow start to running game

The way the Pittsburgh Steelers have crawled out of the gate with the running game might conjure memories of last season, when the backs didn’t find their collective footing until the second half of the campaign.

Through two games, the Steelers have totaled 96 rushing yards, second fewest in the NFL. A week after a 20-point first-half deficit contributed to the Steelers running the ball just 10 times against San Francisco, the results were 55 yards rushing on 21 carries against the Cleveland Browns.

Sound familiar?

“In a way, yes,” center Mason Cole said Wednesday. “It’s just different. Last year, we didn’t know. We didn’t know what we were going to be or how good we were going to be. This year, it feels like we know we can be really damn good.”

It hasn’t manifested on the field. The Minnesota Vikings (0-2) are the only team that has run the ball less and gained fewer yards (69) than the Steelers (1-1). The Steelers’ 3.1 yards-per-carry average ranks No. 27 out of the 32 teams.

The results, in fact, are worse than they were a year ago when the Steelers also got off to a 1-1 start before sliding to 2-6 at the bye. Those Steelers had 166 yards after two weeks and didn’t have a two-game stretch as bad as they’ve endured this year.

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One would have to go back to the second and third games of the 2021 season — Matt Canada’s first as offensive coordinator — to find a worse consecutive games total (84 yards). That was a year before the Steelers brought in Cole and right guard James Daniels to help bolster the offensive line in free agency.

This year, despite the Steelers bringing back four of their five starters on the offensive line and adding Isaac Seumalo in free agency, the running game at times looks like it is stuck in quicksand.

“We’ve shown (how good we can be) at certain times in training camp and the preseason. We had a really good summer,” Cole said. “We know we’re a damn good offense. We’re not executing right now. Last year, it seemed like we were searching for answers more. This year, it seems like there are no excuses, and it comes down to execution.”

The Steelers had 1 yard rushing at halftime of their 26-22 victory Monday night against Cleveland. The final total of 55 yards rushing was inflated by Najee Harris’ runs of 17 and 21 yards on successive plays in the third quarter. His eight other attempts totaled 5 yards.

“We have great concepts, and guys are more than willing and capable of doing it,” tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “It’s little details (and) things we have to figure out. We’ll get there. It’s a work in progress. We’ve got a couple new guys, so we’ll figure it out soon, and we’re going to see the run game explode.”

Perhaps that will happen as soon as Sunday, when the Steelers face the Las Vegas Raiders (1-1), who have the No. 27-ranked run defense (the Steelers are last). In a 38-10 loss to Buffalo, the Raiders gave up 183 rushing yards.

Harris, though, expects the Raiders to use a five-man defensive front against the Steelers, much the way the Browns did Monday night. With top wide receiver Diontae Johnson on injured reserve, the Browns focused on stopping the run — and did so with great success for much of the game.

“When it’s an obvious run down, they are playing Bear defense. They are stacking the box for the most part,” Harris said. “The Browns played one high (safety) almost all game. We knew that. When defenses try to stop the run, it makes it harder. We knew that coming in. It’s something we have to deal with.”

The lack of a running game has impacted the rest of the Steelers offense. Quarterback Kenny Pickett completed just 50% of his passes against the Browns and threw his third interception of the season while leading the offense to just one touchdown for the second week in a row.

“There is a commitment there (from teams stopping the run), but it comes down to execution,” Pickett said. “The pass game and run game is about executing, and we’re not at the level we want to be right now.”

The Steelers figured it out last season after the break when they became one of the NFL’s top rushing teams. They had at least 140 yards rushing in six of their final nine games and dipped below 100 yards just once.

“We’ve got to get this run game going,” Cole said. “It’s going to help our defense. It’s going to help Kenny. It’s going to help everybody. It’s a big challenge for us, and we know how good we can be. We just have to do it now and execute.”