Tyrann Mathieu watched the New Orleans Saints lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers and started questioning his own life decisions from his time with the Saints. Louisiana Legend, Mathieu took multiple pay cuts to help his hometown team build up a roster. He had to ask himself why he did that after watching the offensive line Sunday.
For everything that went wrong for the Saints against the Steelers, the inability to run the football was the biggest headline. The Saints ran for just 18 yards, and you'd have to go back nearly 30 yards to find a worse performance. Mathieu was like everyone at home, though his reasons for frustration were slightly different.
Tyrann Mathieu GOES OFF on the Saints’ offensive line after their loss to the Steelers in Paris 😳
— In The Bayou With Tyrann Mathieu (@InTheBayouPod) October 27, 2026
"For Christ’s sake, I took a pay cut three years in a row so they could find a way to pay offensive linemen that don’t block, who don’t make a difference... 17 runs, 18 yards. I… pic.twitter.com/V9dM6lDntH
Tyrann Mathieu lays the blame for rushing struggles right at the feet of the Saints offensive line
Mathieu is spot on when he says that 17 rushes for 18 yards isn't acceptable no matter what level of play we're talking about. That is terrible at any point in the game, let alone as your final total. In 60 minutes, the Saints couldn't find at least a couple of moderate runs.
There’s two parts to the running game: blocking and running. Mathieu didn’t even mention the running backs during the discussion, leaving it safe to assume he puts most of the weight on the blocking.
When a team puts together a rushing performance this pathetic, the blame tends to naturally fall on the running backs. Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller each averaged 0.8 yards per carry, and they’re not absolved from this, but a back’s yards per carry are much more accessible than how many missed blocks a lineman has.
A running back a decade into his career and a young runner who’s been more hype than substance in his younger years don't tend to get the benefit of the doubt often. Mathieu may be on to something here, however.
The Saints offensive line created zero yards before contact per carry. You simply aren't going to create a good rushing attack when that's happening, and there's only so much you can ask for from your running back at this point.
Of course, you want your running backs to make guys miss and create yardage that isn't there, but zero yards before contact per carry makes that really difficult to do. It's a stat that's a great representation of how well the offensive line is doing their job.
No yards per carry means they aren't opening any holes, and the eye test supports that. Unfortunately, it's been the case for years. Running backs are consistently getting hit in the backfield, and until that's no longer the case, the running game will continue to be lackluster. They'll statistically improve next game, which isn't a high bar to clear, but don't take that as an improvement if it still looks the same.
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