And the running attack has continued as the Steelers dominated the New Orleans Saints on the ground in Paris last week, and head coach Mike McCarthy pulled a trick out of his hat when he used a familiar tactic that the 2025 Steelers offense often utilized by reintroducing the “Jumbo” package, using backup guard Spencer Anderson as a sixth offensive lineman.

On 13 snaps out of the Jumbo package, they ran the ball 12 times for 77 yards and completed a pass for six yards, which is good enough for 6.4 yards per play.

Despite McCarthy’s preference for a heavy passing attack, his decision to borrow from his predecessors and deploy the Jumbo package suggests that he is embracing the ‘bully ball’ football that this current roster excels at. Using heavier formations will make life more difficult for opposing defenses to contend with the one-two punch of Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle, who combined for 222 total yards on 36 touches against the Saints.

When he was putting together the game plan for the Saints, McCarthy looked back to when he first accepted the head coaching job, when he was reviewing tape from last year’s team, and whether seeing the success that the team had played any part into the decision to include it in his game plan.

“Absolutely,” McCarthy said. “I go back to when you get the job, the first thing you do is you sit down and start going through personnel. Spencer [Anderson], I was so impressed with him. It was a big part of the discussion of how we were trying to forecast him for where we felt he could play.”

While it was last year’s coaching staff that created the blueprint for Anderson’s usage in the Jumbo package, McCarthy has also made it a part of his game plans while he was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

“I had a similar experience with Connor McGovern,” McCarthy said. “He’s up there in Buffalo now, and the whole time we were together in Dallas, it was like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get him on the field.’ Is he a guard? Is he a center? He can play fullback. He can do all those things. So, when you have someone like Spencer with his unique talents, it gives you such great versatility.”

After not installing the package over the summer both in OTAs and in training camp, the inclusion of it at the beginning of the week before the Saints game seemed to catch Anderson by surprise.

“It was kind of out of the blue, if I’m being honest,” Anderson said. “I came in last week just getting breakfast at about six in the morning, and I walked past somebody, and they’re like ‘it’s back,’ and I’m like what are you talking about? They’re like, go look at the game plan, and I go look on my iPad, and I’m like ‘Oh, wow.'”

Anderson’s versatility and athleticism allows him to be effective in those packages. He’s got to be able to move.

“Yeah, for sure. You just can’t be kinda like Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum,” Anderson said half-jokingly. “You got to have a little bit of wiggle out there, because sometimes you know they’ll stunt, and you have to be able to react on your feet.”

Offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio said that personnel moves also played a part in getting Anderson more involved in the offense.

“Anderson was playing right guard. So, it wasn’t really something because of the traits that he has,” Angelichio said. “But once we made the move with Brock [Hoffman], we were like well “Hey, let’s get Spence involved.” He’s a valuable piece, and he’s a smart guy who knows the offense. Like I said, he’s legitimate in the passing game too. So, certainly want to try to build off that.”

As a sevent-round pick out of Maryland in the 2023 NFL Draft, Anderson seems to be an afterthought to most, something that McCarthy disagrees with.

“He carries a lot of value on our football team, especially up front, and it’s important for us to continue to create opportunities for him.”