PITTSBURGH -- Just as he had all afternoon, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren cut through the Cincinnati Bengals' defense off left guard Mason McCormick. Then, with his signature acceleration, Warren burst through the second level and slipped past safety Kyle Dugger and cornerback Tacario Davis.
The only thing separating Warren from the end zone and a fourth-quarter, go-ahead touchdown was 20 yards of open grass.
But after taking a step that sent field turf flying as he crossed the 15-yard line, Warren started to lose his balance. With his arms flailing as he tried -- and failed -- to catch himself, Warren tripped to a stop at Cincinnati's 6-yard line.
The premature ending of that 26-yard run was the only self-inflicted blemish on Warren's career outing in the Steelers' 30-27 win against the Bengals.
"Jaylen's so slippery back there," quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Sunday. "First guy rarely brings him down. He actually brings himself down more than the first guy."
Warren, who had 150 yards from scrimmage in the first two weeks combined, finished with a career-best 176 yards from scrimmage. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry, picking up 127 yards -- including 53 after first contact -- on 17 carries.
"I don't even really be making moves," Warren said Sunday. "People just bounce off of me. It's been like that since I was eight years old."
Warren also caught three passes for 49 yards. His numbers would've been even more gaudy if not for a holding penalty against wide receiver DK Metcalf that wiped away an 87-yard run midway through the first quarter.
"I always knew he was a hard runner, but I thought he ran his ass off today, and I'm very proud of him," said guard Brock Hoffman, who made his first start of the season Sunday alongside rookie right tackle Max Iheanachor, who was also making his first start.
Not only did Hoffman and Iheanachor's addition to the starting lineup help invigorate the run game, but the offensive line and the running backs also had a meeting on Monday after the Week 2 loss to New England to get on the same page. That set the table for Sunday's explosion.
"That meeting on Monday was really important for us to just have [the running backs] trust us a little bit more," left tackle Troy Fautanu said. "And obviously shout out to Jaylen for doing what he did today. Just even imagine if Rico [Dowdle] was in there too, what we could have done."
Through the first two weeks of the season, Warren rotated series with Dowdle, but with Dowdle inactive because of a toe injury sustained in the loss to the Patriots, Warren played a career-high 89.8% of offensive snaps -- and he did it while battling a shoulder injury. Warren missed practice on Wednesday and was limited both Thursday and Friday.
"He was the focal point," coach Mike McCarthy said of Warren's impact on the game. "You guys are at practice, you can see how he was limited in certain things. He came up big. He was huge for us today."
Rodgers said he was told Saturday not to throw to Warren during their final practice because of the running back's shoulder injury, and the quarterback spotted him with a wrap on his shoulder before the game. But once Warren took the field Sunday afternoon, the shoulder didn't affect his production.
"What a tough guy," Rodgers said of Warren. "I've always had respect for him playing against him and then being his teammate now for a little more in the season. He is one of the toughest guys I've ever played with and just can't say enough about his energy and the way he runs football and the way he cares about his teammates. I'm glad he's on our team."