Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris had his best game of the season in Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks, running 27 times for 122 yards and two scores. One of those runs, a fourth-quarter one for a first down, included a nasty stiff-arm on Seattle Seahawks CB Tariq Woolen.
The stiff-arm got fellow RB Jaylen Warren “hyped,” he said via transcript provided by the team.
“Yeah, that got me (hyped). I would say that’s my favorite part, too. That’s a spark right there,” Warren said.
Warren had a pretty good day himself, toting the rock 13 times for 75 yards and a touchdown. The Harris one was one of many where the Steelers’ running backs ran angry and broke tackles to pick up extra yards. The ground game was the catalyst for Pittsburgh’s offense taking off and scoring at least points for the second week in a row. It was an impressive performance by both Harris and Warren and a great day for Pittsburgh’s offensive line.
The Steelers used the run to set up the pass too, as their longest completion of the day, a 42-yard strike to WR Diontae Johnson from QB Mason Rudolph, was set up by play-action. The Steelers just dominated Seattle on the ground all day, and it’s the reason why the Steelers are entering Week 18 riding high off a two-game winning streak. If the Steelers are able to run the ball against the Ravens next week the way they did against Seattle, they’re going to be a tough team to beat.
Warren and Harris complement each other really well, and Sunday was an example of that. Harris picked up some tough yards, but he also broke a few big runs, while Warren had a few long runs and contributed with four receptions out of the backfield as well. Both backs are now over 1,000 scrimmage yards on the season and their performance all season, particularly in the second half, is a major reason why the Steelers are in position to make the playoffs.
It’s awesome how much they seem to support each other, and it seems like they feed off each other too. This is another example of that, with Warren getting hyped seeing his teammate toss an opponent to the ground. Warren had a tough 23-yard run in the game too, coming in the second quarter when he ran through defenders and left them on the ground behind him.
When both Harris and Warren have success, the Steelers usually have success. Seeing the Steelers ground and pound their way to victory as they did against Seattle is always fun, and hopefully they can keep it up next week.
