Jaylen Warren is making it harder by the week to keep calling him a hidden gem.
The Pittsburgh Steelers back has spent most of his career without the kind of workload that turns heads around the league, but his performance in the Week 3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals was the kind of outing that forces a second look. Warren turned 17 carries into 127 rushing yards and added 49 more yards on three catches, finishing with a career-best 176 yards from scrimmage. He also forced 10 missed tackles, according to Next Gen Stats.
That explosion came after a quieter start to the season. Through the first two weeks, Warren had just 89 rushing yards on 21 attempts.
Against Cincinnati, though, the setup changed. Pittsburgh had a new right side of the offensive line, and Rico Dowdle was out with a toe injury, which meant Warren handled more of the touches and found more space against a Bengals defense that had been among the NFL’s best entering Week 3.
The result only strengthened the case that Warren is the league’s most underrated running back. He may not look or run like a classic bell cow - he’s 5-foot-8, 215 pounds - and he hasn’t had the kind of volume that usually builds national buzz.
He never finished inside the top 20 in rushing attempts in any season, in large part because he spent his first three years sharing a backfield with Najee Harris. In 2025, Kenneth Gainwell also took a significant bite out of his workload, especially in the passing game.
Dowdle was expected to split touches with Warren this season, but that injury has now pushed Warren into the clear No. 1 role in Pittsburgh’s backfield. And when he’s been given that kind of responsibility, the production has followed.
The numbers back up what the eye test already says. Warren has forced the fourth-most missed tackles among running backs this season with 12, despite ranking 17th in carries.
His 5.7 yards per carry is fourth in the league, per Pro Football Focus. He may not have the superstar label yet, but the Steelers back is doing plenty to earn it.
In Other News...
Antonio Brown Twists The Knife After Steelers Expose Bengals Again
The Steelers 30-27 win over the Bengals in Week 3 fit neatly into a familiar rivalry script: Pittsburgh found enough answers late, Cincinnati found another painful way to let one slip away. Joe Burrow threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns on 28-of-37 passing, but a late fumble helped tilt the game back toward the Steelers, and the Bengals were again left sorting through the kind of loss that tends to linger in a division race.
Burrow responded by urging his teammates to take ownership after the defeat, which is where the frustration really starts for Cincinnati. The defense had trouble slowing Jaylen Warren and Aaron Rodgers, and the Bengals are still left to reckon with the same problem teams in the AFC North hate most - a rivalry game they were in position to win, only to watch Pittsburgh walk out with it again. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Warrens Big Day Reignited A Steelers Frustration Fans Know Too Well
A routine play turned into a talking point all over again when a video captured something appearing to break apart or explode under Jaylen Warrens foot during the Steelers recent game. Warren kept going without any obvious issue, and the moment quickly got swallowed up by the bigger storyline of his day on offense, as he finished with 17 carries for 127 yards and added three catches for 49 yards.
Even so, the image was enough to send Steelers fans back to a familiar frustration: the playing surface at Acrisure Stadium. The field, shared by the Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh, has drawn complaints before, and the odd sequence involving Warren only reopened the conversation after a game in which his workload and production gave Pittsburgh plenty to like. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Finally Found An Offensive Spark But A Bigger Concern Remains
The Steelers got a much-needed offensive jolt in their Week 3 win over the Bengals, and for one afternoon at least, the unit looked more balanced than it had in the opening weeks. Jaylen Warren was a big part of that turnaround with a strong rushing performance, while some changes along the offensive line seemed to help the group find a better rhythm. It was the kind of showing Pittsburgh had been searching for, especially after an uneven start that had left plenty of questions about how quickly the offense could settle in.
Still, the bigger concern sits on the other side of the ball. Pittsburghs defense showed some vulnerabilities in the 30-27 win, and the absence of Joey Porter Jr. was hard to miss as Cincinnati found enough success to keep the game tight throughout. The Steelers can take comfort in finally seeing signs of life on offense, but they also know the next stretch will tell a lot about whether that improvement is sustainable if the defense remains a little less sure of itself. [Read more 🡒]