Some mojo returned for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. It’s no midseason form, but most teams are still shaking off the rust from the offseason and trying to find their groove.
Despite being unable to get anything going, the Steelers were persistent in their attempts to run the ball versus the Raiders. It’s the only thing that kept Las Vegas honest. Bill Cowher’s philosophy was always about the attempts, and Mike Tomlin kept that going, feeding Najee Harris 19 of them. He ran mostly into piles but kept his legs churning for every inch he could muster.
Take that away, and Pittsburgh is one-dimensional. No one wants to witness Kenny Pickett forced into a position where he must win it through the air. Not at this point in his career.
But they pulled out a win, and Pickett had a nice performance versus the Raiders, the first multi-passing touchdown game of his career. Harris finished at a 3.42 average on 65 yards rushing yards.
In his weekly press conference on September 19, Mike Tomlin told Steelers media his team had lost their mojo and needed to rekindle it.
“Mike T just be talking s—,” Harris told Brooke Pryor about the comment. He took it as a challenge, and the Steelers responded with a win. They’re headed in the right direction, but consistency is what’s crucial here.
Asked Najee Harris in lockeroom if he thought the Steelers were on track to finding their mojo after Mike Tomlin said they lost it last week.
Najee laughed, "Mike T just be talking shit."
He said he felt like Tomlin was challenging his players in saying that. They rose to it.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 25, 2023
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