Amidst post-game conversation dominated almost entirely with talk of the Steelers questionable choice of attire, it’s difficult not to focus on the team’s collective performance in Week 8. Catapulting off the success they achieved against the Bengals last week, the Steel Men returned with a similar aggressiveness against the Washington Redskins.
While many of you are likely to point the finger at Pittsburgh’s defensive performance as the key component to today’s win, let us not forget the promising performance of oft-forgotten running back, Jonathan Dwyer.
A few of you may recall the anticipation I expressed in a few of my articles concerning Dwyer leading up to the beginning of the season. A former Georgia Tech standout, Dwyer received little attention leading up to the regular season as he sat securely in third place on the Steelers’ running back depth chart behind Isaac Redman and Rashard Mendenhall, whose return from injury appeared imminent at the time.
Now, in the closing days of successful Steelers October, the tables have all but turned in the Pittsburgh backfield. Mendenhall’s Achilles tendon has sidelined him for an indefinite amount of time, and Redman’s ankle continues to ail him.
Enter six foot, 230 pound Jonathan Dwyer, who for the entirety of his professional career thus far has anticipated such an opportunity as tonight’s.
Dwyer put forth as solid a performance as anyone in the Steel City could have asked; 107 rushing yards on a mere 17 attempts, amounting to nearly 6.5 yards per carry, and all against a Washington defense that ranks in the upper echelon in terms of defending against the run game (Washington ranks 9th in the league in terms of rushing yards allowed).
Dwyer’s 6.5 YPC in tonight’s matchup closely parallels the kind of success he achieved as a collegiate rusher at Georgia Tech. Throughout his 40 game stint down south, Dwyer averaged a staggering 6.2 YPC, on top of his 3,226 career rushing yards.
Things appear to be looking up for Dwyer entering next week’s contest in New York against the Giants, who have more than underachieved on the defensive side of the ball thus far in 2012. New York ranks 23rd in the league in terms of rushing yards allowed per game, giving up an average 126.4 yards per matchup. With Mendenhall and Redman likely to remain sidelined going into Week 9, Dwyer will again receive an opportunity to provide a consistent rushing attack for the Steelers.
His significant size and relatively clean injury record are nothing but positives for the youthful Dwyer as the season progresses. With the Steelers post-season hopes perpetually on the rise as the wins continue to amount, look for Dwyer to receive considerable attention as more attention is paid to the Pittsburgh backfield.
Photo Credits: Don Wright Of The AP
