For the fourth time in four NFL seasons, Pittsburgh Steelers RB Najee Harris has rushed for 1,000-yards in a season. Harris broke through the four-digit barrier on Christmas Day against the Kansas City Chiefs. Entering the game 67-yards short of the mark, he crossed it in the final moments of a blowout loss, finishing the game with 71 yards.
For most of the game, Harris was bottled up and his 71 yards and 5.7-yard average are skewed because of a few final runs as the Chiefs played loose defense. It’s hardly a stat worth celebrating but a milestone all the same.
Harris has now rushed for at least 1,000-yards in all four of his NFL seasons. He becomes the 14th player in league history to achieve that feat in his first four years and the first in nearly 15 years. Before Harris, the last player to do so was the Tennessee Titans’ Chris Johnson from 2008-2011.
Other notable players on that list include Adrian Peterson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Barry Sanders, and Tony Dorsett. The record for most consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons to begin a career belongs to Emmitt Smith, who did so in his first 11 years from 1991-2001.
Harris has long owned the Steelers’ record for most such seasons to begin an NFL career. In fact, no Steeler in history had done it more than once. Not even Hall of Famer Franco Harris, who rushed for only 698 yards as a sophomore in 1973. Pittsburgh’s record for most consecutive 1,000-yard seasons at any point in a career is six, shared by Jerome Bettis and Harris.
The Steelers’ first-round pick in 2021, Najee Harris rushed for 1,200 yards as a rookie. Since, his role has gradually decreased thanks to the emergence of Jaylen Warren. But Harris has kept his streak alive, rushing for 1,034 yards in 2022 and 1,035 yards last season. His production has been remarkably consistent, Harris registering seven or eight rushing scores in each of his first three seasons. He entered Week 17 with five.
Though a 17th game has aided the streak and Harris’ numbers aren’t gaudy, his durability has been remarkable and contributed to doing something no back has done in more than a decade. He’s yet to miss a complete NFL game due to injury, appearing in 67 of a possible 67 games to date.
For his career entering Wednesday, Harris has rushed for 4,202 yards and 27 touchdowns on over 1,000 carries. He began the week in sixth place on the Steelers’ all-time rushing list, 180 yards shy of passing John Henry Johnson for fifth place. Harris’ 27 rushing touchdowns are seventh-most in team history.
A pending free agent, it’s unclear if Harris will be in Pittsburgh to try and make it five straight for the Steelers. The team declined his fifth-year option in May. Like his future status with the team, his market value is unclear and he could test free agency and weigh his options come March.
