5 things Steelers must improve on to be a Super Bowl contender this year

4. Steelers must have a more dominant run game

One of the biggest marks of improvement during Pittsburgh’s four-game winning streak has been the running game— rushing for more than 100 in all four games. This is huge for an offense that struggled to run the ball in 2020.

Even still, there is room for further improvement with the run game. In the Steelers Week 9 outing against the Chicago Bears, they weren’t as dominant on the ground as they should’ve been against a team with a bottom-10 run defense. If Pittsburgh is going to develop into a contender they have to be able to dominate on the ground.

As the season progresses, especially into the playoffs, the Steelers will face a lot of high-powered offenses. Pittsburgh doesn’t have the offense to engage in shootouts, so their formula for victory will be good defense and clock control via the run game. This means the offense must keep improving every week, opening lanes for rookie Najee Harris to run wild.