In life-threatening situations, people who want to survive instinctively do whatever it takes to stay alive. The same rule applies in the NFL, especially when the season is hanging by a thread. For Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers, the mission in Week 18 was painfully simple: play hard, lean on one another, and beat the Baltimore Ravens at home to keep breathing.
That’s a challenge this franchise has faced—and conquered—many times before. But this version of the Steelers walked into Sunday’s must-win game with a glaring difference. Aaron Rodgers was without his primary target, DK Metcalf. No safety blanket. No proven game-breaker on the perimeter. And for a while, it showed.
The offense struggled to find rhythm early. Routes developed without separation. Baltimore crowded the middle of the field, daring Pittsburgh to win elsewhere. For a team already fighting uphill, the first half felt like quicksand. Every snap without progress tightened the grip around the season’s neck.
Then, almost predictably, the running backs stepped in.
Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell quietly became the Steelers’ most reliable lifeline, and when the offense needed oxygen, they delivered it. These two have been saving graces for months now—explosive, determined, and electric in space. In many ways, they resemble two mini versions of Metcalf combined into one position group: speed, physicality, and an edge that refuses to fade.
Once they became involved, the entire complexion of the game shifted.
In the first half alone, Warren and Gainwell contributed everywhere. Screens. Check-downs. Swing passes. Even kickoff returns. It wasn’t subtle. It was intentional. Tomlin’s staff clearly believed this duo offered the best chance to flip the script, and they leaned into it without hesitation.
The Pittsburgh Steelers RB carried Arthur Sith's offense during the first half in Week 18
Rodgers trusted them, too.
When nothing developed downfield, Warren and Gainwell became his safety valves—his pressure release when the Ravens’ defense collapsed the pocket. They didn’t just catch passes; they turned routine touches into meaningful yardage, refusing to go down at first contact. Their effort wasn’t flashy, but it was desperate in the best way. The kind that keeps seasons alive.
By halftime, the numbers told a revealing story. Warren (18) and Gainwell (42) had combined for more than half of Pittsburgh’s receiving yards. In a game where options were limited and stakes were suffocating, the Steelers’ offense survived almost entirely because of its backs. That’s not a coincidence. It’s a survival instinct.
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There’s something poetic about that. When everything breaks down, when plans fall apart, football often returns to its most basic truth: get the ball to the players who want it the most. Warren and Gainwell wanted it. Every touch looked like a statement. Every yard felt earned.
Of course, Pittsburgh will need more if they’re going to extend their season. One duo can’t carry an entire offense forever, especially against a team as physical and relentless as Baltimore. Other players must step up. Plays must be made beyond the backfield.
But for one crucial half—when the season could’ve slipped away quietly—Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell refused to let that happen. In a must-win game defined by urgency and grit, they were the reason the Steelers were still standing.