Though the end result was like so many recent others, the Pittsburgh Steelers found a unique way to go one-and-done in 2024. Losing five-straight games to limp into the playoffs and be immediately dispatched by AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens is one heck of an exit. Spiraling toward the end, RB Najee Harris seemed to suggest the locker room heard too much of the outside noise that only furthered that ugly ending.
“Really something that we talked about on the team that I feel like we need to do,” he told reporters after the Steelers’ 28-14 loss via the WPXI Black & Gold Zone postgame show. “Really just staying together as a team, not listening too much of the outside noise and the outside attention. That’s the fastest way to break up a team.
“I think that’s what really [happened], paying attention too much of what the media say rather than just doing what we gotta do. And I think that’s one of the main things I feel like we could help us out, you know? ‘Cause it’s gonna be tough. There’s gonna be times when you have faced some adversity. But the way you answer it is all that matters.”
His words run counter to a statement he said prior to the playoffs, expressing more confidence in the 2024 Steelers than the 2023 version bounced by the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round. In the end, the results were the same.
Pittsburgh’s gotten used to prolonged losing streaks. This year marked the seventh-straight season the Steelers have experienced at least a three-game losing skid. This time, Pittsburgh couldn’t climb out of its funk. The Steelers dropped their final five, the first playoff team to end the year on such a note since the 1999 Detroit Lions.
From our external view, it’s difficult to know how accurate Harris’ assessment is or what he saw that caused him to make the comment. If true, it’s something to examine and correct next year. Harris, of course, might not be part of that group. A pending free agent more likely playing elsewhere than re-signing with the Steelers in 2025, Pittsburgh could be searching for his replacement in the offseason. Still, Harris’ words shouldn’t be forgotten as Pittsburgh spends another year examining a culture that soured when the season mattered most.
