Kenny Pickett's rookie exuberance knows no bounds.
Even after failing to score more than 20 points for the eighth time this season and adding two more touchdowns to a growing list of scores from gimme range, his assessment of the offense, the play of the offensive line and the talent of Najee Harris is off the charts.
"We took a step in the right direction," Pickett said after the Steelers rolled up a season-high 379 yards offense in Sunday's 20-10 victory against the New Orleans Saints.
"The O-line was unbelievable," he said after they rushed for more than 200 yards for the first time in six years.
"I feel like we have the best player in football in Najee Harris," he said after the second-year running back Harris had a 36-yard run and 99 yards rushing, both season highs.
Pickett might be guilty of a pinch of hyperbole, but there is no discounting the impact the running game — in particular, the offensive line — had on the Steelers offense.
Granted, the Saints and their wobbly run defense that ranked 22nd in the league were certainly part of the reason the Steelers rushed for 217 yards on 43 attempts — their most since a December 2016 game in Buffalo. And Pickett taking off and running eight times for 51 yards contributed to the total.
It was only the third time since the game against the Bills six years ago the Steelers had more yards rushing than passing. Not surprisingly, all were victories.
"Quarterback mobility is a component of it," coach Mike Tomlin said. "I thought Kenny did some good things with his legs. The runners ran hard, and we came off the ball as bigs up front."
Indeed, the performance of the offensive line, which has progressively improved each week, was responsible for the most significant aspect of the run game: the ability to finally break off some long runs.
The Steelers were one of only two teams that did not have a run of at least 20 yards through the first eight games. But that all changed against the Saints when they had four — one each by Harris, Pickett, Jaylen Warren and George Pickens.
"The offensive line played their asses off, but they do every week, especially in practice, too," Harris said. "I think with what we did in practice this week, looking forward to this game, we changed a couple of things. We're finishing a lot more, but it all starts with them. The line did the best so far this year."
Guard James Daniels said the lack of explosive plays in the run game is something that was assessed and emphasized by the coaches during the bye week
"It's impossible to win in the NFL if you're not getting chunk plays, not getting explosive plays," Daniels said. "You can't do that in the NFL, sadly. Hopefully we can keep this up."
All of a sudden, the Steelers look like a team that can run the ball. After rushing for 144 yards in Philadelphia, their two-game total of 361 yards is the highest since Weeks 2-3 of the 2014 season (363). They are averaging 152 yards rushing in their past three games, which ranks 10th in the league in that stretch.
"That's what we've been trying to get going — trying to get explosive plays, get your yards per carry up, get your average up," center Mason Cole said. "Obviously, it hasn't been that great early in the year, but it felt good to get some long runs, get some chunk plays and put us in position early."
Added Daniels: "When you look across the NFL, when you're able to establish the run early, it allows your offensive coordinator to call anything on his play sheet."
Fitzpatrick 'feeling good'
Minkah Fitzpatrick was expected to miss seven to 10 days after having an appendectomy on Saturday, so it is unclear if he will be able to return Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
In 2006, Ben Roethlisberger missed the season opener because of appendectomy and returned to play the next game, though he had 11 days off between games.
Fitzpatrick said he started feeling poorly on Thursday, like he had a stomach ache, and felt worse on Saturday when he showed up for the team's walk-through practice. He was sent to the hospital for tests and had the surgery later that day.
But that didn't stop the All-Pro safety from showing up for the game and standing on the sideline, often using a timeout to talk to his replacement, Damontae Kazee.
"I'm feeling good," Fitzpatrick said.
