Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris ended the 2023 season with two straight 100-yard games after having none all season. He only had one in 2022, also waiting until Week 17 to crack that nut. Well, he got the 100-yard mark out of the way in Week 6 this year, and he believes that is sustainable. Perhaps not so much his own 100-yard games, but consistent and forceful offensive rushing efforts.
After the Steelers’ 32-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders Sunday, Harris credited offensive effort from all 11 players on the field for his success. And part of that, he suggested, comes down to seeing as believing. If you see success that you put on tape, you are driven to want to repeat it.
“Yeah. The more we come together and realize [how] we look on film”, Harris said via the Steelers’ website, the better they can sustain rushing success. “I think that they’ll see that if you want to be efficient on both passing and running, you’ve got to get there and block. There’s a dirty part of everybody’s job”.
Harris said for running backs, the dirty parts are pass protection and the hard four-yard runs. When it comes to wide receivers, that is getting your nose dirty in the blocking game. And that is evidently something the Steelers no longer believe is integral to George Pickens’ game.
“Sometimes you’ve got to block a d-end and you’re not sized up well”, Najee Harris said in praising the wide receivers for contributing to the Steelers’ success running the ball against the Raiders. “But you just getting something on him creates a bigger play. I think when we go on film and we see that, that’s just gonna be something to build upon”.
The Steelers rank ninth in the league with 131.5 rushing yards per game. They totaled a season-high 183 yesterday, with Harris contributing 106 on just 14 carries. He also scored his first touchdown of the season on a 36-yard breakaway run.
On the season, Harris has 376 rushing yards on 96 attempts, boosting his average to 3.9 yards. Considering he raised his average by more than half a yard, that’s not a bad day’s work.
But the important part is what Najee Harris talked about, which is building sustainable habits. The Steelers had instability along the offensive line all season, and with Zach Frazier’s injury, it’s not done yet. But we are seeing some growth there, particularly with Isaac Seumalo back in the mix.
While the Steelers also got Jaylen Warren back from injury yesterday, he was wholly ineffective. Najee Harris ruled the day, appropriately so, and finished the game strong. But as Warren gets healthier, they can re-establish their one-two punch. And as that continues to grow, it will only make the threat of Justin Fields running more potent. Put that on tape and it gives defenses more things to worry about, too.
