Just when it looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to claw their way back into the game and were starting to find a groove offensively against a tough Philadelphia Eagles’ defense, a toss play for running back Najee Harris went very wrong, ultimately changing the game.
On a 1st and 10 from the Eagles’ 26-yard line just a few plays after a 31-yard shot on a flea flicker from QB Russell Wilson to wide receiver Calvin Austin III, the Steelers called a toss play right to Harris. Instead of catching and securing the football on the toss, Harris took his eyes off of it, causing the ball to bounce off of his chest and carom towards the line of scrimmage.
After a mad scramble, the Eagles came up with the football as cornerback Darius Slay recovered it, forcing a pivotal turnover.
For Harris, who spoke to reporters after the game, he just took his eye off the ball and lost it, which was ultimately a drive-killer for the Steelers.
“I took my eyes off of it. I was looking at the hole rather than securing the football and I fumbled it,” Harris said according to video via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on YouTube.
Replay showed it clearly as Harris looked up to the line of scrimmage to search for a lane at the same time the ball came towards his hands. He just flat-out missed it, and it resulted in a crucial turnover just when the Steelers looked like they were finding a groove offensively and were going to get back into the game.
It came at such an ill-opportune time, too. The Steelers were seemingly riding the wave of momentum, putting together solid drives on three straight offensive possessions. And then, in the blink of an eye, the fumble on the failed toss play changed everything.
After the fumble on the toss play, which shockingly wasn’t credited to Harris and instead was listed as “aborted” in the game log going on Russell Wilson, the Eagles took over the game.
Following the recovery by Slay, the Eagles marched down the field and scored a touchdown to cap off a 13-play, 74-yard drive. On the next Steelers’ possession, Pittsburgh shockingly punted down 27-13 after a seven-play drive, and never got the ball back as the Eagles went on a 21-play, 88-yard drive, running out the clock.
Harris’ mistake on the toss play was an example of the Steelers shooting themselves in the foot all game long, and on both sides of the football to boot.
“It was drive killers but I had one myself too so I’m not going to point fingers,” Harris said after the game regarding the Steelers’ mistakes, especially offensively.
It’s a loss that will hurt, but they have to turn the page quickly and prepare for a pivotal showdown with the Baltimore Ravens Saturday with the AFC North title all but on the line.
