In football, you always want to attempt to dictate what the opponent does on either side of the football.
Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the first half, the Pittsburgh Steelers did just that, running the football at a great clip to maintain possession of the football offensively, keeping it out of the hands of the Falcons’ offense. When Atlanta had the football, the Steelers threw the Falcons off their game, loading the box to stop the run, putting the ball in quarterback Marcus Mariota’s hands to make plays through the air.
Turns out, it was a sound gameplan for the Steelers as the Falcons ran just 19 total plays in the first half, only six of which were run plays.