The Pittsburgh Steelers have dropped their last two games to push them back to the pack a bit heading into the final month of the regular season.
Things have become a little more challenging with second-year running back James Conner out for this week's matchup against the Oakland Raiders. With that in mind, head coach Mike Tomlin has voiced that the team will take the running back by committee approach, per Bryan Deardo of 247Sports.
“That is our intentions as we sit here, but we have a preparation week in front of us,” Tomlin said. “Sometimes, a division of labor is revealed to us in that work. We got a great deal of confidence in Ridley, we got a great deal of confidence in Jaylen, particularly of late in Jaylen. He’s a guy that’s been on the rise in recent weeks. Trey’s a guy who has played pro football. We were excited about getting him on our practice squad when we acquired him. So we’ll put him in uniform and give him an opportunity to be a contributor as well.”
Conner has provided a tremendous amount of stability in the backfield as he has picked up the slack left by the vacancy of Pro Bowler Le’Veon Bell. Conner has been highly productive as he’s currently fifth in the league with 909 rushing yards along with being second with 12 rushing touchdowns. His absence leaves a sizable hole in the backfield, which the Steelers will look to fill with their group of running backs.
This should see rookie Jaylen Samuels and veteran Stevan Ridley be the primary contributors for Sunday's game against the Raiders. It appears to be a favorable matchup for them in the running game as Oakland ranks 31st in the league against the run at a league-worst 153.3 yards allowed per contest.
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