The Pittsburgh Steelers have a future Hall of Fame quarterback and a very expensive WR1. But there’s little question who is the team’s most important playmaker.
Running back Jaylen Warren proved to be that again Sunday in Paris, France. The veteran ran for 101 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, and posted three receptions for 36 yards.
With that output, Warren has eclipsed the 120 yards from scrimmage mark in four of the past five games.
In his postgame press conference, Rodgers commended Warren for another solid outing. In fact, Warren is playing so well, the quarterback essentially admitted it’s not news anymore when he shines.
“We’re not going to get numb to it, but we’re almost expecting Jaylen to have 100 yards and make some splash plays,” said Rodgers. “He’s just so dynamic. Love those guys [Warren and Rico Dowdle].
“We knew coming in we could run it against them, and I thought those guys played really well.”
To complement Warren, Rico Dowdle rushed for 41 yards on nine carries. Dowdle averaged 4.6 yards per carry.
Dowdle also led the team with six receptions while posting 45 receiving yards on six targets.
Behind Warren and Dowdle, the Steelers defeated the Saints 16-10 on Sunday.
Steelers Running Backs Shine vs. Saints
The Saints came into the Week 7 matchup allowing the fifth-most rushing yards per attempt in the league. That, plus whatever advantages Rodgers found while studying the New Orleans defense was probably why he felt the team could run well Sunday.
The final result was a season-high 148 rushing yards for the Steelers.
Warren and Dowdle combined for 142 of those yards on 27 carries. Rodgers accounted for the final six. The quarterback had an 8-yard run on third-and-6 right before the 2-minute warning of the fourth quarter to pick up a first down.
It was the kind of game the Steelers envisioned when they signed Dowdle in free agency this past offseason to play with Warren.
“Today, you saw what training camp looked like, just how we would like to play,” said McCarthy. “Anytime we can just line up and give you Jaylen and Rico all day, that’s a good day for us.”
Pittsburgh Has More Third-Down Success With Ground Attack
Entering the Week 7 matchup, the Steelers were 28th in third-down conversions. Against the Saints, though, they found a lot more third-down success thanks to the running game.
After failing to convert their first third-down attempt of the game, the Steelers earned first downs on six of their next seven third-down tries. Four of those conversions were running plays.
In the game overall, the Steelers converted 10 of 16 third-down attempts (62.5%). They came into the contest only successful on 32.9% of their third downs.
Warren ran the ball for a first down on five of those 10 third-down conversions.
“We felt as a football team we needed to own the line of scrimmage on both sides,” said McCarthy. “We felt that going through the game-plan process that was going to be a factor. We definitely hit the target there.”
With the victory over the Saints, the Steelers improved to 5-2 this season. They will face the Cleveland Browns at home next Sunday and then have their bye week.
Aaron Rodgers Reacts to Jaylen Warren Leading Steelers Over Saints