The Pittsburgh Steelers were 4th in the NFL in rushing attempts in 2024. They ran the ball 533 times, and were one of only two teams (along with the Ravens) to run it more often than they threw it. They also finished 11th in total rushing yards.

It stands to reason that if the Steelers ran the ball so often, and finished 11th in yards gained, they had a successful rushing attack.

Think again.

Aggregate stats like total rushing yards can be misleading. It’s a lot harder to get one yard on 3rd-and-2 than it is to get five yards on 3rd-and-13, and teams can rack up “cheap” rushing yards in situations like the latter.

Yards-per-carry is a better guide, as it provides insight into the efficiency of rushing attempts rather than simply the total yards gained. The Steelers averaged 4.1 yards per attempt this season, which ranked 26th in the league. This suggests that while they ran the ball a lot, they didn’t run it efficiently.

Still more instructive is rushing-yards-over-expected (RYOE), a metric constructed using PFF charting data. RYOE measures the difference between actual yards and expected yards on a given play. It adjusts its “expectations” for things like game situation, how well the offensive line blocked, and how well the opposing defense plays the run. Put simply, RYOE measures a running back’s ability to create more yards than expected given the preceding circumstances. Blocking, scheme, situation and the quality of the defense all matter. But what makes RYOE valuable is its ability to map what a back can create on his own.

Using those numbers as our guide, the Steelers were actually bad at running the football. Their rushing EPA, meaning the expected points average for the offense after each run play, was 29th best in the league. And their RYOE numbers for both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren were terrible.

How terrible? Derrick Henry led the NFL in RYOE at 1.77 yards per attempt. Meaning, Henry made almost two yards more per attempt than expected given the circumstances of his carries. Saquon Barkley was second at 1.62. Way down the list, at number 30, was Harris, whose RYOE number was -0.01. Further down was Warren (35th), at -0.11. While Henry made 562 total yards more than expected using this metric, and Barkley made 549 more, Harris and Warren lost yards. Harris’s total was -3, while Warren’s was -14.

Why was that? Several factors contributed. The Steelers run blocking was not nearly as good as expected. The season-ending Achilles injury James Daniels suffered in Week 4 forced rookie 4th-Round draft pick Mason McCormick into the lineup earlier than anticipated. McCormick was a brawler who always gave maximum effort. But he wasn’t a great fit for Arthur Smith’s zone-based run scheme, especially the wide zone plays that required McCormick to climb and block linebackers. McCormick finished 109th out of 135 guards in the final PFF run-blocking grades.

1st-Round pick Troy Fautanu missing the entire season with an injury suffered in training camp hurt as well. Incumbent tackles Broderick Jones and Dan Moore Jr. both had sub-par seasons in Fautanu’s absence. Jones and Moore finished 60th and 67th, respectively, in the PFF run-block rankings.

The Steelers were also terribly predictable by formation, which hurt their rushing efficiency. When quarterback Russell Wilson lined up under center, for example, the Steelers ran the ball almost 85% of the time. Such predictability emboldened defenses to sell out against the run, which they often did by dropping safeties or having their linebackers fill aggressively.

As for the backs themselves, Harris has never been a particularly decisive runner, and his deliberate approach to the line of scrimmage didn’t work well against aggressive defenses. He often found himself pitter-pattering behind his blockers, searching fecklessly for room to run. Harris rarely seemed to hit a hole hard, which limited his RYOE numbers. Warren, who is a tackle-breaker in space, had the opposite problem. He was often so quick to the hole that he ran into blocks before space could develop. Neither back seemed to find a consistent rhythm, and the confluence of the line, the backs, and the scheme was a muddy one.

With all indications pointing towards Arthur Smith returning as the team’s offensive coordinator, whatever changes are to come will most likely involve personnel, not scheme. Granted, the Steelers could retain Justin Fields, and could juice up their attack with a more aggressive quarterback run game. Otherwise, it will fall on better execution for improvement. Adding Fautanu to the mix will help, as will finding a guard who fits the scheme well as a replacement for Daniels, who will likely leave in free agency. Harris is probably gone as well, so adding a back who compliments Warren and is experienced in zone schemes will be a priority, too. The national champion Ohio State Buckeyes have two such backs entering the draft, as both Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson are likely Day Two picks who provide experience and explosiveness.

The Steelers see themselves as a smash-mouth offense that controls the clock by running the football and wearing down their opponents. They were not that team in 2024. If they’re going to commit to the run in 2025 the way they did this past season, they’ll need to do a better job of marrying their blockers and backs to their scheme, and executing at a higher level.