A shoulder injury kept James Conner out of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 9 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, but the lead back won't be out long. On Tuesday, while speaking during his weekly press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that he is optimistic that Conner, fellow running back Trey Edmunds (ribs), offensive lineman Ramon Foster (concussion) and fullback Rosie Nix (knee) will be available to play Sunday against the Rams in Week 10.

Tomlin said that Conner will likely be limited during the early portions of this week's practice sessions. He also said that rookie running back Benny Snell will miss Sunday's game as he continues to recover from recent knee surgery. With Conner and Snell out with injuries, Pittsburgh turned to second-year back Jaylen Samuels and Edmunds, a former practice squad player, to carry the Steelers' rushing attack during Sunday's win over the Colts. Samuels, North Carolina State's career receptions leader, caught 13 passes against the Colts while breaking Le'Veon Bell's single-game franchise record for catches by a running back. 

Edmunds, the older brother of Pittsburgh starting safety Terrell Edmunds, rushed for 72 yards on 13 carries that included a 45-yard run that helped set up the Steelers' first points. In all, Pittsburgh rushed for 90 yards on 25 carries against Indianapolis while improving to 4-4 at the season's midway point. 

Through eight games, the Steelers' running game is 26th in the NFL in rushing and 23rd in yards per carry average. The Steelers were 31st in the NFL in rushing in 2018 despite Conner earning Pro Bowl honors after rushing for 973 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games. 

"We gotta run the ball better on offense," Tomlin said on Tuesday, "particularly in the waning moments of the game." 

On Sunday, Pittsburgh will face a Los Angeles defense, led by All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald, that is 10th in the NFL in fewest rushing yards allowed. The Rams are also allowing the third-fewest yards per carry allowed. 

While they struggled in pass defense earlier in the season, the Rams made a major upgrade after trading for Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey following their Week 6 loss to the 49ers. With Ramsey in the fold, the Rams have won consecutive games while outscoring the opposition, 61-20.  Los Angeles has no margin for error, however, as they are currently two games behind the 49ers for first place in the NFC West division. The Rams are also currently behind the 7-2 Seahawks in arguably the NFL's best division. 

Pittsburgh's offense has started slowly in each of their first eight games, a trend that greatly contributed to their 1-4 start. Mason Rudolph, who has replaced injured Ben Roethlisberger as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback, has especially struggled to find his rhythm at the beginning of games. While Pittsburgh's defense, which has been one of the league's best units since acquiring safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, has been able to make up for the offense's slow start during Pittsburgh three-game winning streak, the Steelers know that their offense can no longer warm-up to the competition. 

Tomlin couldn't help but laugh Tuesday when asked if there was a significant reason why Pittsburgh's offense -- particularly their red zone offense -- isn't as good in 2019 as it was in 2018 when the Steelers scored a franchise-record 53 touchdowns. 

"What do you think?" Tomlin joked while making an obvious reference to the fact that Roethlisberger hasn't played since Week 2. "We're still writing our story."