PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith provided clarity on the preseason run game, which has struggled. A lot of that has to do with a very vanilla scheme. The Steelers are trying to limit what they show on film.
"We don't try to trick anybody in the preseason or show your hand too much, things we may want to use Week 1 or Week 2, of the regular season," Smith said on Monday.
"But just the basic stuff, there was improvement there from Week 1 to Week 2 (in the preseason), and that was encouraging."
The Steelers rushed for only 66 yards on 25 carries (2.6 average) in the first preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars . Last Saturday night against Tampa Bay was better, but the first-team unit left a lot to be desired.
"You're not getting into any kind of crazy schemes," Smith said. "You're trying to get good at the basics. And you're mixing lineups, too, in the preseason. But there's an expectation that's out there, it's things you've been working on. And sometimes it's just the small details, whether it's the tracks, the backs setting up their blocks, people hit their run pressures, you gotta have calls and adjustments to that.
"The other thing, sometimes early in the game, the first two runs (against Tampa Bay), for different reasons, weren't very productive. But that's why you make adjustments, make sure they're in tune to what they're doing. I thought it got going and that was good to see. We hit some 10-plus-yard runs. We had a couple 9-yard runs. You just want to see improvement and that progress."
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson before a preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Aug. 16, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson had a much better showing against the Buccaneers than that of a week ago, and he thinks it's because he got more touches.
The Steelers' third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft believes he only gets better during games the more opportunities he receives. That is exactly why he hopes he'll continue to get more with just one game left until the start of the regular season.
"I'm a very high-volume carry runner," Johnson said. "I feel like that applied to me when I was at Iowa. I'm just trying to get back to the basics of me being in shape and just finishing that off."
Johnson did underwhelm in his preseason debut last week , rushing for just 20 yards on eight carries (2.5 yards per carry), reeling in one catch for six yards and dropping another.
Then on Saturday night, he seemed to turn a corner, rushing for 50 yards on 11 carries (4.5 yards per carry) and reeling in his only target for nine yards.
Johnson's performance even caught the attention of some of his teammates, including former first-round pick Troy Fautanu.
"As you can see, Kaleb Johnson is a dude," he said.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Arthur Smith Sheds Light on Preseason Run Game: 'Just the Basic Stuff'
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