INDIANAPOLIS — Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris was noticeably frustrated after the 27-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Harris finished the game with 13 carries for a minuscule 19 yards. While two first-quarter Indianapolis touchdowns forced the Steelers out of their run-first philosophy, 1.5 yards per carry isn’t adequate production from an NFL-starting running back.
And Harris knows it.
“They are going to come out there with certain defenses to stop the run,” Harris said during the post-game scrum. “We know that. So, we just have to execute it.”
Offensive execution is top of mind for Harris and the entire Steelers offense, and the unit clawed the Steelers back into the game after trailing 17-3 at halftime. The Steelers’ second-half offensive resurgence unfortunately wasn’t enough.
Neither was Harris’ play on Sunday. He finished the game with a -30 RYOE (Rushing Yards over Expected), the worst of any back who made ten or more rush attempts so far in Week 4. Harris suggested that the Steelers were running into too many stacked boxes, and not getting enough blocks on defenders.
“They packed the box,” he said. “They had a free hitter every time and we didn’t put hands on them. Guys that needed to. That’ll happen.”
On the other hand, Cordarelle Patterson, the team’s other running back, found running room before exiting with an ankle injury in the second quarter. Patterson rushed six times for 43 yards—an average of 7.2 yards per rush.
With Patterson hobbled and Jaylen Warren sidelined by a knee injury, the success of the Steelers running game now falls solely on Harris’ bruising frame. He’s taking a defiant stance.
When asked about what quarterback Justin Fields showed in the second half of Sunday’s game, Harris quipped,
“It’s all of us. So, what did we do, what did we see? I saw us all fight—us as a team.”
Harris and the hobbled Steelers hope to bring that fight and win it against Dallas in Week 5.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Indianapolis.