Steelers vs. Bengals: Winners and losers from blowout loss

Steelers loser: Run game plan

This looks a lot like last week’s issues, except they were magnified this week. While the Steelers spent the majority of the game down on the scoreboard, they weren’t being blown out all game. The team never tried to get the run game going though, despite Najee Harris is one of the best players on the offense, the team didn’t seem like they had him in their game plan.

Harris rushed the ball eight total times while only catching three passes. He was phased out early and was subbed out more often than he had in other weeks. I don’t entirely blame Harris here, as while he did take his lumps, he wasn’t given a real opportunity to get going. The game planning with him has been really weird and the past two weeks.

There should be some questions with the Steelers and selecting Harris in the first round at this point. The team doesn’t seem geared to rely on him despite heavily investing in him in the first round. The offensive line hasn’t done him any favors, but that can’t be an excuse anymore. The entire run game has been a disappointment. It really makes the argument of not taking a running back in the first round that much more sensical.