Heading into Sunday’s game on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals, the noise from the outside continued to get louder and louder for RB Jaylen Warren to be pushed in front of RB Najee Harris from a snap and touches perspective.
It’s hard to fault the fan base for wanting to get Warren more involved as the second-year undrafted free agent had been the league’s most productive runner the last three weeks, putting up over 88 rushing yards in all three contests while also recording two 100-yard games as the most efficient back in the league on a per carry basis this season.
However, Tomlin stood by his backfield tandem of both Harris and Warren prior to the game when speaking on The Mike Tomlin Show, calling them both starter-capable backs and saying would both be heavily involved in the offense moving forward. Harris proved that keeping him heavily involved on Sunday was the right move. The third-year runner out of Alabama had his best game of the season, toting the rock 15 times for 99 yards (6.6 YPC) and a touchdown. Tomlin commended Harris’ efforts in his postgame press conference, stating that his impact was felt in Pittsburgh’s 16-10 win against the Bengals.
“He’s our down in and down out kind of ball toter, man,” Tomlin said to the media via video from the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “He doesn’t often get a lot of credit because of the nature in which he plays and the style in which we play, but that attrition component is significant, and I think we’re always appreciative of his efforts.”
Harris was drafted in 2021 to be this team’s workhorse back, the Steelers using a first-round draft choice on the 6-2, 240-pounder. He served as the team’s workhorse back as a rookie, amassing 1,667 scrimmage yards on 381 touches and 10 total touchdowns. He saw his numbers drop a little bit last season with Warren working into the equation and has seen a drastic dip in usage and production this year as Warren has blossomed into a quality runner in his own right, making the backfield a near 50-50 split.
Still, Harris showcased why he was drafted as highly as he was today. He finished multiple runs with incredible effort by moving the pile after first contact as well as displaying good vision and the ability to break the first tackle and forcing more than one man to bring him down. It was a get-right game for Harris as well as the offense as a whole as Pittsburgh moves to 7-4 on the season and continues to see the tandem of Harris and Warren in the backfield string together impressive rushing performances down the stretch.
