Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris continued his impressive stretch to end the season, running 26 times for 112 yards and a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s 17-10 Week 18 win over the Baltimore Ravens. In the driving rain in Baltimore, Harris said the Steelers wanted to play physical, physical enough that the Ravens would take out the starters they were playing.
“Whoever was in there, we wanted to play so physical that if they did play their ones, their guys, we wanted [John] Harbaugh to say ‘We gotta get them out there,’ because of how physical we’re playing,” Harris said in his postgame press conference via Steelers.com.
The Ravens rested some starters with the AFC’s No. 1 seed locked up, and the Steelers clearly had a plan in mind to make sure some more starters found the bench throughout the game. Whether it was due to Pittsburgh’s game plan or not, the Ravens pulled LB Patrick Queen after halftime, and LB Roquan Smith didn’t play for Baltimore. It’s a game that didn’t mean much for the Ravens, but they still played some starters so they would remain fresh with a two-week layoff before their first playoff game.
Despite it being “meaningless” for the Ravens, Steelers-Ravens is still one of the best rivalries in football. Being able to beat the Ravens always feels good, and for the Ravens, it always feels good to beat the Steelers. It feels a little extra sweet for the Steelers to be able to get this win and finish 2-0 against Baltimore this season.
For the Steelers, playing physical was the path to victory. The conditions helped necessitate it, but the fact of the matter is, the Steelers have been setting the tone with their run over the past few weeks. They were able to do so again today against a good Baltimore defense, even if the Ravens were down some starters.
Now, the Steelers will wait and see if they can get the help they need to make the playoffs. If they do, they’ll come into the postseason with a resurgent offense led by Mason Rudolph, who went 18-of-20 passing today, while Harris would come in off back-to-back 100-plus yard rushing games. The physicality up front with how the offensive line has been run blocking is impressive, and it’s the best the unit has looked all season in the run game.
Harris has dealt with a lot of criticism during his tenure in Pittsburgh, but games like today show why Pittsburgh spent a first-round pick on him. He’s a tough, physical, resilient runner who was able to lead the Steelers to victory despite horrid conditions. It was an awesome performance, and the physical game plan was executed to perfection. It was a classic Steelers victory, and Harris was a huge part of it.
