Steelers' Questionable 2nd Half Decision Slowed Down Strong Offensive Attack

The Pittsburgh Steelers got crushed in the second half of their Week 8 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The defense allowed 28 points after halftime alone and had no answers overall. The offense has done well throughout the 2025 campaign, but they also sputtered to end the contest, as they put up just nine points after grabbing a 16-7 lead. A garbage-time touchdown down 35-19 does not make anyone feel better. It was a complete and total failure on both sides of the ball.

One of the main concerns offensively was the play-calling. In his article on X, Mark Kaboly brought up an issue that shockingly popped up after halftime. 

"Jaylen Warren was running roughshod until they stopped giving him the ball," Kaboly said. "He ran for 50 yards in the first half and then touched it three times the rest of the game."

Jaylen Warren continues to show the world that he is a starting caliber running back, as he kept running over people like a human bowling ball against the Packers. Things were working so well that the Steelers were telegraphing the runs they were going to do, and they still went for a quality gains. They ran the same exact toss play back-to-back, and it led to success. 

Up 16-7 at halftime, the Steelers completely abandoned the run game. As Kaboly said, Warren was essentially phased out of the offense as Aaron Rodgers had to deal with a strong pass rush and a secondary that thrived off of stopping the short passes. 

In a postgame press conference, Head Coach Mike Tomlin mentioned that the team was "behind the sticks" more than they wanted to be later in the game. That tends to create more passing situations. Regardless, Pittsburgh still has a tendency to run the ball on 2nd and long to try and set up a manageable third down situation. The pass protection constantly broke down on Sunday night, along with numerous penalties, which forced the Steelers to get off schedule. 

On the other hand, the Steelers may have been scared off from their usual running strategy due to an injury. Left guard Isaac Seumalo left the game early due to a pectoral strain. Spencer Anderson, who has been the swing tackle for the past month, was put in the normal lineup to replace him. That likely made Smith over-adjust, as Pittsburgh struggled to run the football before the emergence of this overpowered jumbo formation that helped make the whole offensive line look good.

Steelers Can't Let One Injury Derail Their Season

With Anderson moving to guard, they still could have put 300-pound Calvin Anderson in as the swing tackle. That was his role in 2024 when he signed with Pittsburgh. He could have still lined up next to Darnell Washington to help create rushing lanes, but they did not want to try that until they lined up for a two-point conversion late in the game. It worked, but Jonnu Smith dropped the pass.

If Seumalo has to miss time due to injury, veteran lineman Andrus Peat will likely get a helmet for the first time. At 316 pounds, he could also come in and act as the extra offensive lineman next to Washington. He could also come in as the left guard and kick Spencer Anderson back to the role that has made him a star in Pittsburgh. 

Seumalo may be a great mentor and a quality lineman, but losing him should not completely change the offense. Tomlin keeps talking about "next man up." That should be the case for the swing tackle as well, even if many teams see it as irrelevant. Teams have not been able to stop this jumbo formation, so Pittsburgh should seemingly keep using it with different bodies.

What do you think about the Steelers not using Warren in the second half of the game? Do you think it will get back on track soon? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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