Steelers running back Jaylen Warren spent years deflecting attention. Now he's at the center of it

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jaylen Warren's legs never stop moving. Which way they take the relentlessly upbeat Pittsburgh Steelers running back during a given play is a mystery, sometimes even to Warren himself.

Take what looked like a give-up call during last Sunday’s 27-6 victory over Cleveland that sent the Steelers into their bye week atop the AFC North at 6-2.

Facing third-and-13 at the Pittsburgh 24 in the first quarter, Aaron Rodgers handed off to Warren on a play not necessarily designed to turn into a field flipper.

It happened anyway.

Warren darted to his right, then zigged and zagged, then zigged again for a 51-yard gain that set up Chris Boswell's field goal. A half-dozen Cleveland defenders had a shot at Warren during his longest run of what is quickly becoming the best season of his five-year career before the seventh finally brought him down.

“I don’t know what it looks like,” Warren said after tying a career high with 143 yards rushing, including a 1-yard touchdown run early in the second half that sealed Pittsburgh's fourth straight win. “I don’t know what I was doing.”

Yeah he does: He's serving as the engine for an offense that is making up for in effectiveness what it might be lacking in electricity.

“He's put himself in all the conversations,” Rodgers said of Warren. “He’s playing incredible. To be able to call a trap on third-and-20, get a first down, is pretty wild. Don’t expect that. Can’t remember the last time that happened when I was out there.”

There's a lot of that going around when Warren is involved.

He was an undrafted rookie free agent in 2021 who made the team largely because of the joy he takes in pass protection. Warren ranks third in the NFL in yards from scrimmage, sandwiched between a pair of former first-rounders in Seattle wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Ngiba and Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson.

“He’s a bowling ball with teeth, man,” Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt said with a laugh. “You can’t get him down.”

On the field or off. Warren, who bounced from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, to Utah State to Oklahoma State before landing with the Steelers, may be one of the most popular players on a team where the vibes at the moment are bordering on immaculate.

“He’s a great locker room guy,” Watt said. “Very selfless. But man, he loves football, and you can see it in the way that he plays.”

A way that has helped Pittsburgh's offense stay afloat despite having two of its top receivers, a quarterback who'll soon turn 43, and an offensive line where only one player — center Zach Frazier — is in the same spot he was a year ago.

Warren's 5.9 yards per carry is tops in the league. His 11.8 yards per reception is ahead of wide receivers such as Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase and Detroit's Amon-Ra St. Brown.

When Warren gets the ball, good things tend to happen. And now it's starting to look as though he doesn't have to do it alone. Rico Dowdle, signed in the offseason to serve as the 1B to Warren's 1A, appears to be back at full speed after recovering from a toe injury. Dowdle has 191 total yards over the last three games, including his first touchdown of the season.

In some places, that kind of production might lead to “OK, who's really the top guy?” speculation. That doesn't happen in Pittsburgh. Not with Warren, who spent the first three seasons of his career complementing former first-round pick Najee Harris before welcoming Kenny Gainwell in 2025 and Dowdle this season as equals.

“That's my brother," Warren said of Dowdle. "Seeing him being successful makes all of us happy. That’s what makes us great.”

Great might be a bit of a stretch, but that almost might be the best part. Pittsburgh is sitting atop one of the NFL's most competitive divisions without having played anywhere close to a complete game offensively.

The Steelers are in the bottom half of the league in points and yards due in part to an inability to finish drives. Only half of Pittsburgh's trips to the red zone have ended with touchdowns, something it will have to improve on if it wants to win a second straight AFC North crown and have a shot at ending a playoff victory drought that is nearly a decade old.

“We have to be better down there, absolutely,” offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio said.

Given the way Pittsburgh's defense is playing at the moment — the Steelers lead the NFL in sacks (25) and are third in points allowed — another touchdown or two during a given week could go a long way.

“We’d like to play our best and still win,” Rodgers said. “We also like to win, so ... We’re 6-2 going into the bye, first in the division. We’re right where we want to be."

For now, anyway. Warren's legs remain fresh as the stretch looms. How far they can help carry the Steelers, no one knows. Warren included.

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