Najee Harris was eating good on Thanksgiving. So much so that by Sunday, he was still feeling it. Early Sunday in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, Harris appeared to be doing the Tryptophan Trot, pulling up in the middle of a screen pass and leaving the game. He was out of action for several minutes before returning. Talking to reporters postgame, Harris offered an explanation.
“Thanksgiving. [TE Pat Freiermuth’s] girlfriend Jill, she made this fire-ass banana thing,” he told reporters via the team website. “And I had too much. I didn’t know it affected me until that first drive.”
It might be the first Thanksgiving-related absence we’ve ever noted before. The Steelers didn’t designate Harris with an injury or status while he was sidelined as Cordarrelle Patterson finished the rest of the drive. He reportedly received oxygen on the sideline before returning to the field.
While it was a meal that got Harris into some trouble, it was a snack that got him out of it.
“I got some oranges and I was good,” he said.
By game’s end, Harris was back to his normal self. He finished with 129 total yards of offense, 75 rushing and 54 receiving. Pittsburgh took advantage of Cincinnati’s soft coverage, QB Russell Wilson consistently checking down to his running backs while the Steelers leaned heavily on their screen game. Harris was named one of our winners of the game.
Najee Harris found the end zone in this offensive shootout, a walk-in touchdown midway through the second quarter thanks to quality blocking from TE Darnell Washington, LT Dan Moore Jr., and C Zach Frazier.
Throughout his four-year career, Harris has been as durable as any running back in football. He’s yet to miss an entire game due to injury despite shouldering a heavy workload and dealing with minor ailments, including throughout this season.
It turns out that a hard-hitting safety or linebacker isn’t what slows Harris down. It’s some banana bread, turkey, and mashed potatoes. But Harris fought through it and helped lead Pittsburgh to victory.
With Pittsburgh playing on Christmas day, hopefully Harris skips the ham until after playing the Kansas City Chiefs.
