4 of the worst things we saw from the Steelers 2021 season

Steelers fail to create a potent running game

The Steelers went into the last offseason with the mantra being to fix the run game. After a pair of disappointing seasons running the ball, the offensive line was overhauled, and a new running back was needed. Despite this desire to run better, the team failed to address the entire unit. There were no significant free agents brought in and the team drafted Najee Harris in the first round expecting him to completely change this unit.

That hasn’t happened, and there are two main culprits to blame. The popular scapegoat has been the line, and they are deserving of a lot of the blame. They have failed to regularly open holes for Harris forcing him to fight for most of his gains. That said, this is the unit that the front office decided would work. They only invested a third and fourth-round pick in the line, and it shows.

While a fine player, Harris hasn’t been perfect either. While an extremely tough runner, he lacks explosion which has limited his big runs. As well, he has made slow or poor decisions with the ball in his hands which has cost the team yards. It has been a failure from multiple fronts and considering the Steelers’ decree that they were going to fix the running game, the fact that they haven’t is hugely disappointing.

The Steelers have had their fair share of ups and downs this season. Unfortunately, a lot of the bad elements from this season have kept this team back. While it hasn’t all been bad, these four elements have easily been the worst aspects of the 2021 season.