Progress was evident for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their recent 24-21 victory over Minnesota in Dublin, as the team achieved season-high numbers in several rushing categories. The Steelers carried the ball 29 times for 131 yards, averaging 4.5 yards per carry and scoring two rushing touchdowns. This marked a significant improvement from earlier games, where they had managed only one rushing touchdown and their previous best ground output was 72 yards against Seattle on September 14.
Offensive line coach Pat Meyer credited the entire offense for the improved performance. “Yes, we did,” Meyer said regarding whether the offensive line played its best game so far this season. He added, “Obviously, it’s a collective group. It’s everything. It’s the line, the backs, the tight ends, the wideouts. We were jelling more as an offense.”
Meyer noted that surpassing 100 rushing yards and out-rushing an opponent for the first time this year was a positive sign but emphasized ongoing work: “We’re working it every week,” he said. “We’re working to get better each and every week and that’s what we expect. There’s a lot more to it when you talk run game than just an offensive line. It’s the quarterback getting us into the right checks and doing that stuff.”
A tactical adjustment during the game involved using backup offensive lineman Spencer Anderson as an additional tight end on 19 snaps—more than double his total offensive snaps from all previous games combined this season—often lining up next to Darnell Washington.
“We saw something with that team that we were like, ‘We can go heavier and do that and build off of that,'” Meyer explained about Anderson’s increased role. “We have a heavy tight end (Washington) as it is. He’s bigger than most of the linemen.
“Spencer did a nice job. He did a nice job last year when he was in there as a starter for the four games he started. He’s a big, twitchy, athletic, physical lineman, a kid that’s got twitch to him. It was just a way to get him on the field.
“It’s something we’ll look into each and every week.”
Despite multiple low snaps from center Zach Frazier to quarterback Aaron Rodgers during shotgun formations—a problem Meyer acknowledged—the coach does not expect it to persist.
“In a game, we talk to him,” Meyer said about Frazier’s snapping issues. “You don’t want to say too much in a game because you don’t want him thinking about it too much, either. Aaron will say something, like, ‘Hey bro, just be you.’ We tell him, ‘Hey, it’s gotta be better.’
“That’s something that’s non-negotiable; it’s like jumping offsides. The snap has to be there. In the ‘gun’ it’s just gotta be consistent and it’s gotta be 100 percent—not 99 percent; it’s gotta be 100 percent. It’s gotta get done the right way.
“He’ll fix it. He’s a football guy; he loves it. He understands the consequences when something like that happens. I don’t expect it to continue at all.”
