A freak mistake at the worst time. That’s what happened to Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris Sunday in Philadelphia. The Steelers finally finding offensive traction with the chance to tie the game at 20, Harris fumbled a simple toss play in Eagles’ territory. Philadelphia recovered and controlled the game the rest of the way. But that moment won’t prevent OC Arthur Smith from going right back to Harris.
“It doesn’t change my confidence in Naj,” Smith told reporters Wednesday via the PPG’s Brian Batko. “He’s a very dependable player. Nobody wants to screw up. It happened.”
Arthur Smith says the Najee Harris fumble won’t hurt his confidence in that toss play. “Things can happen on any play. … Those are routine plays [around the NFL]. It doesn’t change my confidence in Naj. He’s a very dependable player. Nobody wants to screw up. It happened.”
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) December 18, 2024
Speaking to reporters postgame, Harris admitted he took his eyes off the football, looking at downfield blocking before securing the pitch.
It was Harris’ first fumble of the season though due to a weird box score quirk, the fumble was technically charged to QB Russell Wilson. Because Wilson pitched it and Harris never fully gained possession, the statistician didn’t hold him responsible for the fumble.
To anyone who watched the play, it was on Najee Harris. A rare moment of poor ball security, it marked only his sixth career fumble. He had zero as a rookie, three in 2022, and two last season. Harris has been normally excellent in the things often taken for granted, being available and durable and protecting the football.
“If something continues to happen and you repeat the same mistakes, that’s a different matter,” Smith said via a team-issued transcript. “Everybody will make mistakes. If you sit there and try to bury somebody over it, that’s not good leadership either.”
Ugly and costly as that moment was, Smith’s confidence is fair. There’s a separate discussion about roles and if Jaylen Warren, a more explosive and dynamic running back, should have his increased. But Pittsburgh leans on the talents and skill sets of the entire backfield, keeping each other fresh, and Harris has had moments of dominance this season.
They’ll need the Harris, Warren, and the rest of the offense to play mistake-free football to sweep the Baltimore Ravens Saturday and clinch the AFC North. The Steelers had moderate ground success the first time around, Harris rushing for 63 yards and Warren 41 as the offense finished with 122 yards on the ground.
