The Pittsburgh Steelers press room has been pushing the narrative that running back Jaylen Warren needs more touches. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t against that idea. But one thing has to happen first.
What is that one thing? More third-down conversions.
“We win more third downs, we’ll get Jaylen [Warren] more touches,” Tomlin told reporters Tuesday. “It’s as simple as that.
“Jaylen was having the trajectory of a good day in LA, but we didn’t convert enough third downs for you to really, really feel it.”
To Tomlin’s point, Warren averaged five yards per carry against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 10. But Warren only had 14 carries.
He also had two catches for 21 yards. Those were his only two targets in the passing game.
The Steelers tried to stick to their ground attack even while behind by multiple scores in the second half Sunday. However, the team’s offense only went 2-for-11 on third down. The unit also failed to convert its only fourth-down opportunity.
“Guys, [when] you’re 0-for-nine-or-10 on third down, you’re not going to have enough snaps,” Tomlin said immediately after the game when asked about whether the Steelers need to run the ball more. “We’ve been over that discussion a lot.”
Steelers Offensive Struggles on Third Down
The Chargers appeared to put together a pretty strong defensive plan for the Steelers in Week 10. Los Angeles double covered D.K. Metcalf, and no other pass-catcher created enough consistent separation for the Steelers to move the ball.
But Pittsburgh’s problem on third down didn’t start versus the Chargers. The Steelers are 7-for-33 (21.2%) on third down over the past three weeks. They have just three conversions in their past two losses.
A lot of things are contributing to that poor conversion rate. The Steelers are mostly facing too many third-and-longs. Part of why is negative plays on first and second down — short gains, penalties and sacks.
Warren’s five yards per carry should have helped the Steelers face more third-and-managables in Week 10. But it didn’t result in a better conversion rate.
Then on third down, quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn’t been able to connect with other receivers when the opposing defense takes away Metcalf.
The Steelers will enter Week 11 ranked 26th in third-down conversion rate at 36% this season. If there’s any good news, though, in their first matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, who the Steelers host Sunday, Pittsburgh was 7-for-10 on third down.
Could RB Jaylen Warren Play More on Third Down?
Interestingly, the Steelers could potentially fix two issues — needing to get Warren more touches and converting third downs at a higher rate — with the same answer — give the running backs touches on third down.
On Tuesday, though, Tomlin wouldn’t commit to doing that.
“I’m comfortable with both backs [Warren and Kenneth Gainwell] in possession down ball,” Tomlin told the media. “Not taking anything away from Jaylen. He plays a lot on first and second down. You have to give him opportunities to catch a break. Sometimes, it’s on third down; sometimes it’s not. Sometimes we’ll give other ball carriers the start of a possession.
“He just simply cannot play every down, but I’m completely comfortably utilizing both guys on possession down play.”
That’s not really a surprising answer. NFL teams don’t “save” their best running backs for third down. They use them on first and second downs to avoid third downs altogether or third-and-longs.
On third-and-long, the Steelers can’t really utilize Warren a lot anyway because it’s a passing situation.
But with the team searching for answers on third down, it would be prudent for the Steelers to get their best offensive playmakers on the field for those situations.
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