Over the course of the previous two games, Pittsburgh Steelers starting running back DeAngelo Williams had carried the ball of total of just 25 times for only 83 yards, an average of only 3.3 yards per attempt.
The Steelers had been drifting away from the running game, for a variety of reasons exclusive to the in-game circumstances, including an impromptu shift at the quarterback position due to injury, which altered the game plan.
Prior to that, Williams had been worked hard as the starting running back, averaging about 23 carries per game, which was more than he averaged per game than at any point in his previous nine seasons, and led me to wonder if the Steelers had rethought their strategy with Le’Veon Bell already out for the year.