The Pittsburgh Steelers' offense has certainly come together under the leadership of third-string quarterback Mason Rudolph in recent weeks. He has been able to open up the offense by bringing balance to both the running and passing games. This has allowed the team to put up 30 or more points in consecutives contests (the first time all season). While Rudolph has been getting the lion's share of the attention from the fans and the media, Kyle Brandt, who hosts Good Morning Football (GMFB) on NFL Network, has named two additional heroes, running backs Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris.
Brandt issues an award called "The Angry Run Award," which goes to the player who ran the "angriest" or toughest during each week of the NFL season. Brandt sends the player that won that week a scepter to acknowledge the win and asks for a photo of the player with it in return. For Week 17, he awarded the scepter to Harris, who won for the fifth time, tying Tennessee Titans running back, Derrick Henry. But the competition was stiff.
Brandt said that one of the nominees for the week was Warren, who he names as his favorite player in the NFL, even saying he is naming his next child "Jaylen Brandt." But his competition for the award is Harris and Brandt is impressed by how the back crawled for the end zone to make the touchdown, and how he drags defenders behind him. The third nominee? Warren again, calling his running, "pure ridiculous chaos." The fourth nominee? You guessed it. Harris. Brandt said that Harris didn't stiff-arm a Seattle Seahawks defender as much as he threw him and "bounced him like a basketball."
Brandt issues that award saying Harris is a "ridiculously bad dude." He also said it was the first time two players from the same team have taken all of the nomination spots and that it really came down to the wire to decide on a winner. However, the Steelers surprised Brandt by sending back a photo of nearly the whole offense, except the two running backs, holding the scepter. Brandt got a surprise chance to ask for clarity on that.
Steelers' Jaylen Warren Explains Team Photo To Kyle Brandt
On GMFB, they do a weekly chat with Steelers captain, defensive end, Cameron Heyward. This week, Heyward had a surprise for Brandt, he brought Warren with him. Brandt was so excited he said he gave him goosebumps. Brandt asked Warren why Harris sent back the photo they did. He said it won a lot of admiration from Steelers fans too.
"That picture just speaks volumes, you know. They are the reason it all happened, they make all of the magic happen on the field for us and we just follow them," explained Warren.
Brandt's co-host Jamie Erdahl, asked Warren about the t-shirt that was made to commemorate both players winning the award this season. The shirt came as the result of a post from Heyward after both backs had a big game in Seattle, saying they both might need to be displayed. Warren said it was the first time he had seen the shirt.
"I think it's pretty cool with both of us on it. There was back-to-back weeks where we both won it. I thought that was pretty cool. You know I'd never heard of the Angry Run segment until I got on it. So when I seen both of us from Pittsburgh, back-to-back weeks, I think that speaks for itself. We just feed off each other's energy," said Warren.
Warren and Harris were placed into a kind of "running back by committee" by Head Coach Mike Tomlin who was attempting to spark an inconsistent offense. Both Harris and Warren have seen additional action with Rudolph under center. Whether it is because of Rudolph's leadership, or the alignment of the stars, the offensive line is much improved and this has been what has allowed the run game to flourish.
After the win over Seattle, Tomlin credited the offensive line for leading the charge and allowing the run game to pick up 202 yards, which is a season-high. The Steelers' offense managed to control the time of possession as well, taking 37:30 out of 60 minutes.
The offensive linemen said they knew they had this in them. But it wasn't just the line as the picture clearly shows. The tight ends, and even the wide receivers, were out there making critical blocks. Tight end Pat Freiermuth, who has taken a lot of heat for his blocking struggles, was proud of his contributions to this tremendous victory.
The Steelers still have a shot at making the playoffs and it will be back on Rudolph's shoulders again against the Baltimore Ravens during the last game of the regular season. The Steelers have a few routes into the postseason, but the best way is for them to get a win against the current AFC North Champions.
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