Cam Heyward is betting the Steelers’ ground game changes the mood around the team in 2026. He said Rico Dowdle and Jaylen Warren form a really good one-two punch, and he expects both backs to eat this year as the run game takes off.
That is why the line caught attention now. The Steelers finished 2025 with the fourth-worst time of possession at 28:22 per game, a number that left their defense on the field too often and made every sustained drive matter more. Heyward’s point was simple: if the offense can keep the ball longer, the defense should get more breathing room.
There is reason to hear him out. Dowdle posted 1,373 scrimmage yards last season, and Warren finished with 1,291. Put them together, and the Steelers have two backs with enough production to make a shared workload possible. Mike McCarthy’s goal is 55 combined completions and rushing attempts per game, a sign that the plan is built around volume, not one player carrying the whole load.
The problem is that Pittsburgh has not consistently lived that way in recent years. A defense benefits when the offense can chew clock, but the Steelers did not get that luxury often enough in 2025, when the club’s 28:22 of possession lagged well behind Buffalo’s league-best 33:18. Buffalo’s defense also played 950 defensive snaps, while Pittsburgh’s played 1,112, a gap that helped show how quickly extra offensive losses can turn into extra work for the other side of the ball.
Heyward’s projection is easy to understand. The harder part is turning it into a weekly split that keeps Dowdle and Warren fresh while also meeting the possession target that would matter most to the defense. If the Steelers cannot do both, the promise of a stronger run game will sound a lot better than it plays.
