Steelers' Mike Tomlin on Jonathan Dwyer: 'He's been consistently the most productive guy'

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Jonathan Dwyer will be his No. 1 running back Sunday when the Steelers travel to play the Baltimore Ravens, according to Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

With injuries all over, Dwyer has slowly emerged as Pittsburgh's best threat on the ground.

The third-year back out of Georgia Tech started to show what he's got in Week 6 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Dwyer rushed for 122 yards on 17 carries. A week later, he rushed for 100 yards again.

Since then, he hasn't cracked more than 56 yards rushing in a game, but Tomlin likes what he's seen:

"He's been consistently the most productive guy," Tomlin said of Dwyer, who has a team-leading 429 yards and a 4.4 average per carry. "I think we've got a large enough body of work to be able to identify that at this point. ... Over the course of the last several weeks, it's obvious that he, one, is healthy and, two, is the most productive of the group."

In 16 career games -- with eight coming this year -- Dwyer is still looking for his first NFL touchdown.

The Steelers may need to rely heavily on Dwyer on Sunday. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is being eased back into game shape and could start Sunday. Whether he plays or not, Pittsburgh may want to try to get the job done on the ground with uncertainty at the QB position.