Big Change in Way Steelers are Running the Ball

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers might have a plan to run the ball heading into the future. While the team has primarily run out of 12 and 13 personnel and condensed sets, even out of 11 personnel, changes could be coming on that front. The Steelers saw plenty of success running out of spread looks against the Raiders, averaging nearly nine yards per carry on those runs.

There were not many of them, but it’s something that offensive coordinator Matt Canada can latch his hat onto. He has to balance the idea of not adding too much but riding the wave of success with his team. Those spread looks seem to be where the run game gets going, and that big change might just ignite something on the ground for Pittsburgh.

“Yeah, I mean, there’s area for lot of things,” Canada said. “Obviously, what’s the balance, the correct balance. Is it doing more or having opportunity or mistakes and not quite knowing what to do, or prior question, you know, simplify and that’s why it was better. So, there is a balance there of doing more, different things, different looks to execute, which we’ve got a lot in our bank here of plays we’ve run at camp, and also getting our guys comfortable. So yeah, we can do a lot more things. Again, got to find a way to win this week anyway we can. We’ll just keep trying to add to it from there.”

Steelers OC Matt Canada at practice on Sept. 27, 2023 – Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

On Wednesday, Najee Harris noted that teams just ‘jet the gaps’ against the Steelers running game. They load up the box and the numbers are not there for the team to block it up. More than that, tight ends are getting put into tough spots, and as a result, the group has not found a consistent identity on the ground, until potentially they face the Raiders.

“The Browns did it, too,” Harris said. “I think they all saw what the Niners put on film, and they were all just jetting gaps. You know, all the double-blocks, they were just splitting them. They see run and go. But you know, they saw this as a way to stop the run against us. It’s football, we have to find ways to combat that. We have to execute at a higher level.”

Pittsburgh has more 12 and 13-personnel groupings featuring tight ends. So far this season, the offense has struggled mightily when running out of heavy personnel and condensed sets. They are keys for the defense who just shoots through the gaps. To fix the run game, the Steelers need to do some things better out of other spread looks to crack that code on the other side of the ball. Moving forward, there’s a good chance that is exactly what they plan on doing.