Offensive line showcasing physical approach, 'next man up mentality'

In the early parts of this season, the Steelers have utilized a physical approach across the offensive line. With the combination of Najee Harris, Cordarrelle Patterson and Jaylen Warren in the backfield, Arthur Smith has chosen to run the ball and wear opposing defenses down.

In their season-opening win against the Falcons in Atlanta, the Steelers averaged 3.06 yards per carry. In the second half, that number increased slightly and they averaged 3.52 yards per carry. That statistic was also slightly higher in the fourth quarter as they averaged 3.76 yards per carry. Those numbers aren't great, as even their fourth-quarter average would currently be the sixth-worst mark in the league at the moment, but they consistently improved as the game went on.

However, the Steelers' performance on Sunday against the Chargers was a perfect example of wearing a defense down. The Steelers averaged just 1.56 yards per carry in the first half and improved that mark to 4.55 in the second half. If you single out the fourth quarter, however, -- when the Steelers essentially broke down the proverbial dam they've been speaking about all week -- they rushed for 6.67 yards per carry.

On Monday, Broderick Jones said their success in the fourth quarter was attributed to their conditioning and their motivation to finish the game out. He said, like many did Sunday after the game, they could feel the Chargers start to deteriorate and took advantage.

"We didn’t really want to lean on our defense, we didn’t want to put our defense back out there, so we just tried to eat as much clock as we could," Jones said. "By doing that, we have to run the football. So, we knew we were going to have to run the football, they knew we were going to have to run the football. It was the end of the game, people were tired, so we were just trying to lean on them at that time because we lean on our conditioning big here in Pittsburgh. Coach T (Mike Tomlin) does a great job of making sure we are physically conditioned, mentally conditioned, so when those times come we can execute to the best of our abilities."

Playing in front of their home crowd for the first time this season, Jones said it was a badge of honor to win the game in that way: "It is just imposing your will at the end of the day."

Despite their success on Sunday, the Steelers are close to the bottom of the league in rushing efficiency. Their 3.6 yards per carry is the fourth-worst mark in the league. However, their 6.67 yards per carry average would be the best in the league at this time. So, how does this offensive line consistently beat teams in the run game from the beginning of the game and wear them down from there? 

Spencer Anderson said he believes it starts with anticipation.

"Getting up on the second level, I know that’s a big thing for me obviously, I think getting up to the second level and just seeing things before they happen," Anderson said.

This means making that first block and getting to the second one. I think we saw the perfect example of that against the Broncos when the Steelers were backed up against their own end zone before Harris broke off an eight-yard run to give his offense a little breathing room. Here take a look:

You can see Anderson get off his first block and pass the defender to Zach Frazier, who absolutely smothers him, and then Anderson gets to the second level to try and open another hole for Harris. It was a play that was almost a replica of Patterson's 31-yard touchdown run in the preseason against the Lions and could be a blueprint for success moving forward.

It was also something you saw repeatedly late in the game against the Chargers. Players were utilizing their physical approach and were getting to the second level to block for Harris and Patterson. Here, let's look at Patterson's 14-yard run on the Steelers' final drive.

Defensive linemen get driven out of the way to the left side and James Daniels makes a block at the second level to spring Patterson for a few more yards. On that final drive, Patterson picked up gains of 14, 4, 12 and 3 yards and Harris picked up gains of 4, 11 and his 21-yarder to the Chargers' one-yard line, put the game on ice.

"They just didn’t have as much fire as they did at the beginning of the game," Jones said. "At the end of the day, I feel like they got tired so we were able to run it at the end of the game and eat up the clock."

The Steelers are also battling with a patchwork offensive line as Isaac Seumalo has been out since the beginning of the regular season and Troy Fautanu was placed on injured reserve ahead of Sunday's game after suffering a right knee injury in practice on Friday. That injury alone changed the game plan for the Steelers. Jones had to slot back in at right tackle after a horrid performance against the Broncos and Mason McCormick had to step into the jumbo package the Steelers used Sunday to play the role Jones was meant to play.

Game by game the Steelers have been finding a way to make it work and it's due to the chemistry, cohesiveness and thought process that they have in the offensive line room.

"You never know what can happen," Anderson said. "Obviously, nobody expected Isaac to get hurt, nobody expected Troy to get hurt, you don’t ever expect anybody to get hurt. You always have to be ready and you have to prepare throughout the week that way and always be on your toes in this business."

While there's still room for improvement, as there always is, what the offensive line was able to do Sunday, especially late in the game, against one of the better defenses in the league, was a step in the right direction and the Steelers are looking to build on that.

"I’m glad to see the offense got to see the end zone a couple of times and I’m willing to push the team to want to do more because we can’t always lean on our defense," Jones said. "We have a great defense but at the end of the day, if the defense makes stops, the offense has to score. That’s what we’re trying to build on and continue to go down that track."