Steelers' Aaron Rodgers Lays Out Exactly Why Pittsburgh Found Success Against Miami In Week 15

At this point in the season, every game is a must-win game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Week 15 Monday Night Football showdown with the Miami Dolphins was no exception. Going into the game with a 7- 6 record, the Steelers needed a win to keep their one-game lead in the AFC North over the Baltimore Ravens. With the Steelers' home crowd behind them, they responded with a dominant showing. Aaron Rodgers and the offense were cooking on all cylinders in their crucial 28- 15 victory that was even more dominant than the score, with the Dolphins scoring a late garbage-time touchdown to make it more respectable. 

Rodgers was sensational despite the cold weather, going 23-for-27 passing for 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns to superstar receivers DK Metcalf and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. For Rodgers, however, the key to the offense is not the passing attack. He expressed this postgame.

"Once we started running the ball, everything opened up," Rodgers explained.

Rodgers knows just how important running the ball is to an offense's success. Throughout Rodgers' historic career with the Green Bay Packers, the Packers almost always featured a great running back or running backs. For Rodgers in Green Bay, it was guys such as Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, who punished defenses that wanted to key in on the passing attack. For the Steelers, it's Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell who will have to make this a multi-dimensional offense. 

The Steelers dominated on the ground vs the Dolphins, especially with Gainwell, who had 13 carries for 80 yards, with a blistering 6.2 yards per carry, as opposed to fellow Steelers running back Warren, who had 12 carries for just 33 yards. Gainwell also added to his incredible day with seven receptions for another 46 yards, bringing his total to 126 yards on just 20 touches. While Gainwell was initially seen as an afterthought after Warren and rookie running back Kaleb Johnson, it's been Gainwell, not Johnson, who has been the second head of the Steelers' two-headed monster with Warren.

Steelers Still Have Plenty Of Room For Improvement

The Steelers' dominance on the ground Monday has not been a consistent theme this season. Entering week 15, they were the 5th-worst team in the NFL in rushing yards per game, averaging just 92.5 yards and just 3.9 yards per carry -- which is also the 6th-worst in the NFL this season. The four teams behind them in rushing yards per game (the Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans, Cincinnati Bengals, and Las Vegas Raiders), have all been eliminated from the playoffs. If the Steelers want to continue their winning ways, they'll have to establish the running game like they did against the Dolphins. 

If the Steelers can do that, the sky is seemingly the limit for this offense that has woken up as of late. In their last five games, the Steelers have scored 34 points against the Bengals, 28 against the Bears, 27 against the Ravens, and now 28 against the Dolphins. When the Steelers acquired Rodgers in the offseason, this was the offense Steelers fans were hoping for: hyper-efficient, capable of putting up points at a rapid rate. For the Steelers' Week 16 showdown against another 8-6 team, the Detroit Lions, they'll have to rely on their rushing attack, which Rodgers mentioned, to both set up their offensive attack and keep the explosive Lions offense off the field. 

The Steelers should have opportunities to establish a rushing attack against the Lions, who are in the middle of the pack in rushing defense, allowing the 13th-most rushing yards per game. In fact, the Steelers' Week 16, 17, and 18 opponents give up the 13th, 14th, and 15th most rushing yards per game in the NFL, with the Lions, Browns, and a Week 18 showdown with the Ravens on the horizon. If the Steelers want to be playing playoff football and win the AFC North, Warren and Gainwell will have to continue the Steelers' rushing attacks recent success, and the Steelers have the opponents for them to do so.

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