Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris was awarded the Angry Run of the Year on Thursday Night at the NFL Honors ceremony at the Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas.
Harris beat out former Steelers RB James Conner, now with the Arizona Cardinals, and Seattle Seahawks RB Zack Charbonnet for the award.
Harris won for this punishing run in Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks, where he threw Tariq Woolen into the ground with a nasty stiff arm.
Kyle Brandt announced the nominees with videos of each run on Good Morning Football on Tuesday morning, and also presented the award to Harris and announced him as the winner on Thursday Night.
Charbonnet’s run came in Week 3 against the Carolina Panthers, while Conner’s ironically came in Week 13 against the Steelers, tossing Patrick Peterson to the ground without a care in the world.
Harris lost out to Dameon Pierce for the 2022 Angry Run of the Year, despite being a finalist. It’s the first time Harris has ever won the award.
Here’s what Brandt had to say about Harris’ run when he announced the nominees:
“He puts him down and keeps him down. There was so much malice. He doesn’t smile, he doesn’t look back, it was pure, and oh God, it’s like a squirrel on the side of the road,” Brandt said.
Harris was nominated last year for his stiff arm on Atlanta Falcons S Richie Grant, but his similar run where he bounced Woolen off the ground with a stiff arm this year was enough to get him the win. In his third season in the league, Harris has established himself as one of the NFL’s most physical and powerful runners, and he’s established quite the tandem with Jaylen Warren in the Steelers’ backfield. Pittsburgh is a run-heavy team, and Warren and Harris fit that identity, as both have won Angry Run of the Week this year, but Harris is the one who came away with the ultimate prize.
