The Steelers left France with a win, and the biggest reason they did was simple: the run game kept giving them answers on both sides of the ball.
Pittsburgh’s 16-10 victory over the Saints on Sunday in the first NFL game ever played in France pushed the Steelers to 5-2 and gave them a third straight win. It also kept them tied with the Cleveland Browns for first place in the AFC North, with a huge divisional matchup set for this Sunday.
Even with the offense having its share of trouble, a few Steelers made sure the team had enough to get it done.
Jaylen Warren was once again the heartbeat of the offense. With injuries thinning out Pittsburgh’s playmakers, he kept churning out yards and giving Aaron Rodgers a dependable outlet, especially on the short throws that helped the Steelers stay on schedule. Warren finished with 18 carries for 101 rushing yards and added three catches for 36 yards, making him one of Pittsburgh’s most productive weapons.
Rico Dowdle also gave the Steelers something important to work with after missing three weeks with a toe injury. He returned against the Buccaneers, but his performance against the Saints showed more clearly what he can add, particularly as a receiver.
Dowdle finished with nine carries for 41 yards and six catches for 45 yards, giving Pittsburgh a useful change-of-pace option behind Warren. Getting him more involved matters not just for balancing the offense, but for keeping Warren fresh as the season goes on.
Then there’s the defense, where the Steelers’ work against the run has quietly become one of the biggest storylines of the last three weeks. That’s a sharp turn from recent seasons, when stopping the run was a real problem.
Even with Derrick Harmon on injured reserve, Pittsburgh has held Jonathan Taylor to 45 rushing yards and Bucky Irving to 46 after his big game against the Cowboys. Against the Saints, the unit was even more suffocating, allowing only 18 rushing yards as a team.
That kind of control up front has helped drive Pittsburgh’s defensive success, and it showed again in France.
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