Jaylen Warren just gave the Pittsburgh Steelers the best game of his career, and he gets four days to do it again. Warren ran for 127 yards on 17 carries and caught three passes for 49 yards in Sunday’s 30-27 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, earning the top initial PFF grade on the team at 91.7.
Now the Steelers (2-1) visit the Cleveland Browns (2-1) for a Thursday night AFC North game at Huntington Bank Field. Pittsburgh held only a walkthrough Monday, and Warren, who played through a shoulder injury last week, wasn’t listed on the estimated injury report. Here are three expectations for the Steelers running back in Week 4.
Warren gets another workhorse load
Rico Dowdle is the reason Warren’s workload spiked. Dowdle hurt his toe in the Week 2 loss to the New England Patriots, sat out Week 3 and was a non-participant on Monday’s estimated report. The short turnaround means Dowdle probably won’t play in Week 4.
Without him, Warren played 90 percent of the snaps against Cincinnati. Travis Homer, signed from the practice squad last week, is the likely change-of-pace back, but the job is Warren’s.
“He came up big. He was huge for us,” head coach Mike McCarthy said after the game.
Expect something close to 20 touches again. The Steelers don’t have a better option on four days of rest.
Warren keeps the ground game rolling
The Steelers’ rushing attack has improved every week, from 58 yards against the Atlanta Falcons to 91 against New England to 138 against Cincinnati. Warren said the bigger, more physical approach finally clicked.
“We were all on the same page, and that’s what it looks like when we are,” Warren said. “A big part of it was scheme, leverage on the defense and just taking advantage of it.”
Cleveland gives him room to keep it going. The Browns allow 120.3 rushing yards per game, 23rd in the NFL through three weeks. The Jacksonville Jaguars ran for 126 yards against them in Week 1, though the Carolina Panthers were held to 98 in Cleveland’s 21-18 win Sunday.
The catch is the end zone. Cleveland hasn’t allowed a rushing touchdown, and Warren is still looking for his first score of 2026. He had an 87-yard run wiped out by a holding penalty Sunday, then tripped near the 5-yard line at the end of a 26-yard run in the fourth quarter. We’d bet on the yards before the touchdown.
Warren stays busy as a receiver
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Warren has 10 catches for 110 yards through three games, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers went to him right away against the Bengals. Warren turned a short pass on the first play from scrimmage into a 30-yard gain.
That usage should carry over against a Browns defense that held Carolina’s running game in check. If the lanes close, the checkdowns won’t.
Rodgers made it clear how much he trusts his running back.
“What a tough guy,” Rodgers said. “I’ve always had respect for him, played against him and then being his teammate now for a little more than a season. He is one of the toughest guys I’ve ever played with.”
Pittsburgh’s next injury report comes Tuesday, and it will show whether Dowdle has any real shot at beating the turnaround. Kickoff in Cleveland is at 8:15 p.m. ET Thursday on Prime Video.
