Rookie running back Jaylen Samuels had 142 yards rushing in Sunday's win over the Patriots, a game that will earn him a spot in the memory banks of Steelers fans for years to come.
What did it earn him from the team?
Well, if James Conner returns this week from a two-week hiatus with an ankle injury, it very well could be a spot on the bench Sunday in New Orleans.
"I saw him (Conner) downstairs getting rehab," Mike Tomlin said Tuesday in his press conference at Rooney Complex. "Hopefully, that sets the stage for a productive Wednesday and we'll go on from there. We'll let the amount of work he's able to do and the effectiveness be our guide and make those decisions at the appropriate time."
Tomlin sounded more optimistic about Conner than he had in previous weeks. But whether Conner, who still ranks 10th in the NFL in rushing with 909 yards and second in rushing touchdowns with 12 despite missing the past two games, can be effective against the 12-2 Saints remains to be seen. They rank first in the league in allowing 79.1 yards rushing per game. Part of that is because New Orleans has been ahead a lot and opponents have run the ball just 301 times -- tied with the Eagles for fewest in the league -- but the Saints also are second to Houston in allowing 3.7 yards per carry.
"You can always shape those stories however you want," Tomlin said. "The yards per carry speaks to the dominance of their run defense. Forget the number of runs and game circumstance, whether they are ahead or behind, things like that. When (opponents) choose to run it, they are No. 2 in the league in yards per carry. They are run-game dominant."
It's also not for a lack of having faced top backs. The Giants' Saquon Barkley managed just 44 yards on 10 carries, while the Rams' Todd Gurley had 68 yards on 13 attempts. The Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott did have 75 yards in a win over the Saints, but took 23 carries to get to that total. Those three rank 1, 2 and 3 in the league in rushing.
The Steelers, meanwhile, rank 30th in rushing offense, despite the presence of Conner. They have attempted just 307 rushes, the fourth-fewest. That doesn't mean they don't want to. It's all about efficiency. Samuels, for example, had just 19 carries against the Patriots -- a career-high for him going all the way back through his high school days -- but was effective, averaging 7.5 yards per carry.
They've been very cognizant of not overworking Conner, as well. He had a career-high 31 carries in the regular season opener at Cleveland, but hasn't come close to that number of attempts since, posting just four games this season with more than 20 carries.
He has averaged a healthy 4.5 yards per carry. Samuels entered the game against the Patriots averaging just 2.6 yards per rushing attempt, but saw that increase to 4.8 yards per carry this season coming out of that game. He also caught two passes for 30 yards.
His performance improved the Steelers' record to 5-0-1 this season when they have a 100-yard rusher. But there was nothing in Samuels' background that suggested he was capable of performing like that. After all, he'd never had a 100-yard rushing game in the NFL, college or even high school.
"Who said I had confidence?" Tomlin answered when asked what gave him the confidence Samuels could perform to that level. "He was our back and he was prepared and so we went into the stadium. There are often times when you walk into a stadium and you're a young guy where it's a first for a lot of things. I'm sure as he continues to step into stadiums with a significant role for us, he'll continue to check some boxes on things he hasn't done before. That's just a natural thing in a young player's career."
That Tomlin suggests Samuels will have any kind of "significant role" moving forward is a big deal. After all, he had played 56 offensive snaps in the first 12 games before starting the past two, with 17 coming in mop-up duty in a blowout of Carolina.
But how big that role can be and whether he can be used against the Saints remains to be seen.
After all, much like Conner a year ago, one area in which Samuels continues to struggle is pass protection. That could be exposed against the Saints, who have 45 sacks.
"They trample the run on their way to the pass," Tomlin said.
