If you didn't catch the game live, you might think that the Pittsburgh Steelers squeaked out a victory against the New Orleans Saints in Paris, France. After all, a 16-10 win doesn't look all that convincing on paper.
But the scoreboard doesn't begin to tell how dominant the Steelers were in both the offensive and defensive trenches in Week 7.
From start to finish, the Steelers' offensive line bullied the Saints' defensive linemen with a power rushing attack. Likewise, Pittsburgh's dominant defensive line completely overpowered an unsuspecting New Orleans offensive line.
It was true, old-school trench warfare for the Steelers in Week 7—and Mike McCarthy's team finally cracked the secret to success the rest of the way.
The Pittsburgh Steelers bullied the Saints in both the offensive and defensive trenches
Let's start with the offensive line. Despite the lack of rest and being in unfamiliar territory across the pond, the Steelers' offensive line came ready to beat the brakes off the Saints. On the first offensive series alone, running back Jaylen Warren carried the ball three times for 43 yards.
In the first half, Warren rushed for 78 yards on 8.7 yards per carry. By the end of the game, the Steelers, as a whole, earned 148 rushing yards on 30 carries, per ESPN stats. This equated to an impressive 4.9 yards per carry and a whopping 10 first downs gained through rushing.
Left guard Mason McCormick was amped up, and his tenacity could be felt through the TV screen during the game. Meanwhile, center Zach Frazier and rookie right tackle Max Iheanachor made key blocks that sprung either Warren or backup running back Rico Dowdle for impressive gains.
But as good as the Steelers' O-line was at paving lanes on the ground, their D-line was even better at shutting them down.
Pittsburgh's run defense was better than we've seen it in years, as their entire front seven was dialed in. Defensive linemen Yahya Black, Cam Heyward, and Keeanu Benton each made plays in the backfield, while the edge rushers and linebackers were constantly cracking down against the run.
By the end of the game, the Saints combined for a mere 18 rushing yards on 17 attempts (1.1 yards per carry). The lack of a running game made New Orleans completely one-dimensional, relying on second-year quarterback Tyler Shough to win through the air (and, to his credit, he did a good job for most of the game).
The Steelers' trenches were the difference in the game (and this should be the approach moving forward)
Because of the dominant play of Pittsburgh's offensive and defensive trenches, the Steelers outpaced the Saints in rushing by a whopping 130 yards, with a difference of +3.8 yards per carry. This is something we don't see often.
And if the Steelers are to be contenders this year, this is how they'll have to do it.
Obviously, we want to see more big plays from Aaron Rodgers and the passing game. Sadly, this might not be attainable with any level of consistency. The Steelers are lacking a true WR1, and we know who Rodgers is at this stage of his career.
However, if they can dominate the trenches as they did in Paris in Week 7, the Steelers will have a shot at beating any opponent in any given week.
This should be the identity of the Steelers—a run-first team with an aggressive run defense. While we would love for Pittsburgh to put up close to 30 points per game, they simply don't have the personnel for that type of shootout approach.
Instead, McCarthy should aim to take advantage of teams on the ground every week while forcing opposing offenses to be one-dimensional and to abandon the running game (much like the Saints did in Week 7).
What's most remarkable is that the Steelers were able to pull off such a dominant game in the defensive trenches with both Derrick Harmon and Sebastian Joseph-Day on the Reserve/Injured list. While they won't top the run-defense performance we saw in Paris this week, their talent can still get better when Harmon and Joseph-Day return to the field later.
The Steelers need to get more consistent passing the ball beyond five yards—that goes without saying. But dominating the trenches is the secret to success for Pittsburgh for the rest of the way.
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