Jaylen Warren gave the Steelers exactly the kind of performance that can force a backfield rethink.
With Rico Dowdle sidelined for Week 3 against the Bengals, Pittsburgh leaned on Warren for the heavy lift, and he answered with a career day: 176 yards from scrimmage, including 127 yards on 17 carries. That production helped carry the Steelers to a 30-27 win and made a pretty simple point impossible to ignore - Warren can handle a much bigger load than Pittsburgh has been willing to give him.
That matters because the Steelers were supposed to have a two-man solution in Warren and Dowdle in 2026, but the first two games didn’t exactly inspire confidence. The pair combined for just 126 rushing yards on 36 carries, and Dowdle in particular never got rolling.
Warren’s outing against Cincinnati also fit the bigger picture of what he’s been as a runner. He’s the more dangerous player when there’s space to work with, and the numbers back that up.
Last season, Dowdle was credited with 34 missed tackles forced on 236 carries, according to Pro Football Focus ($). Warren had 53 missed tackles forced, which ranked eighth among all runners even though he finished 21st in rushing attempts.
That kind of ability to create something out of nothing is exactly what Pittsburgh’s offense needs. Warren already has 12 missed tackles forced this season on only 38 carries, so that part of his game is still very much alive.
Dowdle brings a different style. He’s the more straight-ahead, north-south runner, and that gives the Steelers a useful contrast.
But the source of that contrast is also the reason the split shouldn’t be even. Dowdle can help hammer out tough yards and give Warren a breather, yet the better answer for this offense is for Warren to be the centerpiece and for Dowdle to handle no more than 30% of the touches.
That may not be what either side pictured when Dowdle arrived, but after what Warren showed against the Bengals, it looks like the clearest path for Pittsburgh. Head coach Mike McCarthy saw the same thing everyone else did: a relentless runner who can change the game.
In Other News...
Antonio Brown Twists The Knife After Steelers Expose Bengals Again
The Steelers found another way to make life miserable for Cincinnati in Week 3, winning 30-27 and once again leaving the Bengals with plenty to sort through. Joe Burrow put up strong passing numbers, going 28-for-37 for 282 yards and three touchdowns, but the late fumble loomed large in a game where Pittsburgh kept answering enough plays to stay in front.
Burrow called on his teammates to take ownership after the loss, and the Bengals defense had its own issues trying to slow Jaylen Warren and Aaron Rodgers. For Pittsburgh, it was the kind of divisional result that carries extra weight, especially against a Bengals team still trying to find a cleaner finish in the moments that matter most. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Fans Had Plenty To Say About Will Howards Sideline Moment
Will Howard spent Week 3 on the Steelers sideline as the emergency third quarterback against the Bengals, inactive for the game while Pittsburgh leaned on Aaron Rodgers and Jaylen Warren in a 30-27 win. Howard still has yet to appear in a regular-season NFL game, but he wound up drawing attention for something unrelated to the box score.
Fans on social media noticed what appeared to be nicotine pouches tucked into Howards uniform, and the sideline moment quickly took off online. It was the kind of off-field detail that can briefly overshadow a quiet game-day role, especially for a player who is still waiting for his first regular-season snap, and it gave Steelers fans one more thing to talk about after a tense divisional win. [Read more 🡒]
Joe Burrow Just Added To A Brutal Bengals Debate
Joe Burrow did plenty of good work against the Steelers, moving the ball efficiently and finishing 28 of 37 for 282 yards and three touchdowns, but the game still ended the way too many Bengals followers have come to dread. In the final minutes, Burrow coughed up a fumble that helped turn a promising outing into another loss, and it only sharpened the familiar frustration around Cincinnatis late-game execution.
The debate has only grown louder because of a statistic that has followed Burrow around online: he is 1-34 when trailing in the last eight minutes of NFL games. For a quarterback with his talent and rsum, that number has become a lightning rod, especially after another close finish slipped away against Pittsburgh and gave critics fresh material to hammer the Bengals' quarterback situation. [Read more 🡒]