It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers want to run the ball early and often, pounding their opponents into the turf while chewing clock on lengthy drives. Head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith spent the entire offseason emphasizing how the team needed to reestablish its smashmouth, run-first identity that propelled the franchise to six Super Bowl wins.
While the Baltimore defense has struggled as a unit this season (26th in yards per game allowed at 362), their run defense is still one of the best in the NFL (2nd best in yards per game allowed at just 77.