The Pittsburgh Steelers just put the finishing touches on a 27-6 win over the Cleveland Browns, in which the Steelers running back helped set the tone for what was a true butt-kicking from start to finish.
Happy 28th birthday, Jaylen Warren.
While there were still some questionable decisions by the offense early in the game, especially in the red zone, Pittsburgh eventually embraced the bullyball DNA of their roster. On the day, the Steelers hammered
the Browns with 200 yards on the ground. Leading the charge was Warren, who tied a career high with 143 yards rushing on 17 attempts, good for an average of 8.4 yards per carry. Warren reached that same rushing total last December against the Lions.
Warren created explosive play after explosive play, with three runs of 15 yards or greater, including a 51-yard scamper that helped convert a 3rd-and-13.
But Warren wasn’t just simply outrunning defenders; he was running through them. According to PFF, Warren totaled 118 yards after contact, an average of 6.94 per rush. He forced five missed tackles as well.
And, of course, the Steelers couldn’t let their dominant running back’s birthday end without a trip to the end zone.
Warren isn’t just a dominant force, though. He’s been a great teammate during his career, and he made sure to shout out his offensive line during a pregame interview. The Steelers’ offensive line deserves just as much credit for this win, naturally, and they made sure to come through for their guy so he could not only celebrate a win on his birthday, but have a career day as well.
The Steelers are on bye next week and will have a rematch against Cincinnati in Week 10. Warren rushed for 127 yards on 17 carries (7.47 YPC) when the teams last played in Week 3. Heading into this week, the Bengals were only fractionally better against the run (116.3 yards per game) than the Browns (116.4 YPG), but allowed 158 rushing yards to Titans in an overtime win. The Bengals also surrendered 36 points to an abysmal Tennessee offense that entered the week with the NFL’s second-lowest scoring average at 15.4 points per game.
That should have Warren and the rest of the Steelers licking their chops as they rest up and prepare for another crucial division game.
