3 reasons Steelers must get run game going against Bengals

The Bengals are weak

While the Bengals are far from a Super Bowl contender, they are the perfect team for this ground game to reset itself. While certainly not the worst run defense in the NFL, the Bengals are in the back half of them, and the Steelers should be able to exploit this. Given just how bad their offense has been, the Steelers should actually find some success against the Bengals this week.

This means that the Steelers should be in a decent position to take an early lead and hold onto it. If that is the case, then the team will be able to try and establish the run, as they won’t be laying from behind. That said, there have been quite a few games where the team has taken a lead but opted to keep the ball in the air. That can’t happen this week, as the Steelers will have to try to get their run game going especially if they secure an early lead.

The Steelers should try to run early and often. This game will be their best chance for the rest of the year, as both the Colts and the Browns poise a much harder challenge for the Steelers rushing offense. If they can’t run this week, they won’t for the rest of the year. That means that they go into the playoffs as a purely one-dimensional team. As we have seen from the previous weeks, that hasn’t worked for the team.

This week is the perfect storm to get the ground game going again. Unless the team falls behind to the Bengals, there are no excuses for Ben Roethlisberger to pass the ball 35 or more times. This week should be centered around getting James Conner going, and if the time allows it, perhaps they can even let Benny Snell get some burn. It doesn’t matter who, but the Steelers need to focus on establishing the run this week to set them up for later.