‘I’m excited to go get it’ Warren leads running game Sunday

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Struggling to run the ball, the Steelers will be without running back Rico Dowdle Sunday against Cincinnati. Last year an early injury to Jaylen Warren allowed Kenny Gainwell to eventually become team MVP. Now it’s likely Warren getting the bulk of the work at tailback.

“I’m always taking advantage of my opportunities,” Warren said. “However it shakes out? Whatever play they have for us, I’ll be ready.”

Warren has a team-leading 21 carries for 89 yards this season, the numbers buoyed a little by the late-game work against New England. He also has the fourth most catches on the team (seven) for 61 yards.

Cincinnati is the only division team Warren has never scored a touchdown against. It’s a new-look Bengals defense allowing an AFC best 149 rushing yards over the first couple of weeks and that’s greatly impacted by the addition of Dexter Lawrence in the middle.

“You can tell they bank on their D-line,” Warren said. “They got probably a thousand pounds on their D-line, it’s something we’ve been preparing for and I’m excited to get to it.”

Warren said as an offense they’ve been working on getting on the same page as the Steelers have only scored one offensive touchdown this season, a pass to Pat Freiermuth.

After Warren on Sunday, the running back depth is an interesting mix.

Travis Homer

• Released after training camp despite his special teams involvement, Homer had the longest run against the Patriots of 14 yards. The veteran said he feels comfortable with the offense and his teammates. He’s rarely used in the backfield, nine carries in his last four seasons combined.

Eli Heidenreich

• The rookie seventh-round pick is still adjusting to playing running back after really being a slot back or wing back at Navy. He had 20 rushes for 65 yards and a touchdown in the preseason

Lew Nichols

• Preseason has been the only place Nichols could show his worth running 20 times for 87 yards. Undrafted out of Central Michigan, Nichols (5’10”, 220 pounds) has only played one NFL game, last year, and didn’t have a rushing attempt. He will need to be added from the practice squad.
• “Lew is a spectacular player, as you’ve seen in the preseason,” Warren said.
• “I can bring my own style and flavor to the run game and the offense, whether that’s catching the ball or running with it,” Nichols said. “Playing to my strengths, I’m a downhill guy, strong.”
• “Amped up to get a chance to get out there, compete and help this team. Definitely excited, having fun, not overthinking it.”

“We have confidence in all our backs,” said Steelers offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio. “We've just got to get in consistency, in a rhythm. We haven't really hit that flow where we're moving the ball consistently as an offense. I think that's when the run game starts to show up, but when you're constantly, I don't want to say, behind the sticks or you're just not in that flow where you're stacking plays — we’ve got to stack plays, and that's how the running game gets going.”

“I think once we get that, I think you'll see the runs go up. I think you'll see the big plays go up because that's something we obviously have been missing.”

Maybe it’s just seeing a familiar foe, not as much for a new coaching staff, but for Sunday’s lead tailback Jaylen Warren, who said about AFC North games, with teams knowing each other.

“Whoever wants it more, wins.”