Jaylen Warren absolutely went off for over 100 total yards on Thursday night, delivering a monster performance in the Steelers’ Week 4 loss to the Cleveland Browns. This dude had 17 carries for 93 yards and tacked on another three catches on six targets for 33 yards. That’s a huge night for a running back, especially when your team is staring at a loss.
Warren’s Numbers Are Exploding Without Dowdle in the Mix
The reason Warren got to feast like that? Rico Dowdle (toe) was out again, sidelined for the second straight game. That meant Warren was getting almost all the action out of the backfield, and he made the most of it. We’ve seen this trend now: in the two games where Dowdle has been active, Warren’s been averaging 75 total yards. But when Dowdle’s inactive, man, Warren’s average skyrockets to a massive 151 yards. That’s not a small jump, that’s a straight-up explosion! You gotta wonder how long they can ignore those kinds of numbers.
What’s Next for the Steelers’ Backfield?
Here’s the kicker, though, and it’s a real buzzkill for anyone who just watched Warren dominate: with extra rest before Week 5, there’s a real chance Dowdle comes back. If he’s healthy, he’s absolutely going to siphon touches away from Warren. That could shove Warren right back down from being a legitimate RB2 option into that RB3/flex territory. After showing what he can do when given the rock, it’ll be tough to watch them potentially scale him back. We’ll have to see how the snaps shake out next week when the Steelers hit the field again.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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