BALTIMORE — Najee Harris has made franchise history. With rushing over 77 yards against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, he became the first Steelers running back to begin their career with three seasons of 1,000 yards or more.
Hall of Famer and Steelers legend Franco Harris did not even accomplish that feat. Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis rushed over 1,000 yards in his first six seasons with the Steelers, but he got traded to Pittsburgh from the St. Louis Rams in 1996.
Harris accomplished the feat in the third quarter, with a four-yard run. He finished with 112 yards rushing on 26 carries (4.3 average) and a touchdown. Harris recorded back-to-back 100-yard rushing games for the first time in his career.
With rainy conditions in Baltimore, it was ideal for the Steelers to give Harris and Jaylen Warren a healthy dose of carries. The Ravens’ run defense has been leaking lately, as well. They have allowed 5.2 yards per carry and 125.4 yards per game since their loss to Cleveland at home in Week 10.
The Steelers’ rushing attack has been lethal since Week 10, averaging 144.1 yards per game. Harris and Warren have become one of the best running back duos in the league. They both came into Saturday’s game with over 1,000 yards from scrimmage, marking just the fourth time in franchise history that two backs have tallied over 1,000 yards from scrimmage in a season, joining Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier (1976), Walter Abercrombie and Frank Pollard (1985) and Abercrombie and Earnest Jackson (1986).
Harris arguably had his best game of his career last Sunday’s win over the Seattle Seahawks, rushing for 122 yards on 27 carries (4.5 average) and two touchdowns. He could have had a third rushing touchdown, but he slid down to ice the game and run the clock out. Harris’ 122 yards rushing was his most since Week 16 of 2021, a career-best 188-yard performance against the Cleveland Browns. He gained 118 of his rushing yards after contact, the second-most in a game in his career, according to Next Gen Stats. Harris was named FedEX Ground Player of the Week for his performance.
Harris has often been criticized by the fanbase and in the media for not living up to his first-round selection in 2021, but his body of work showcases that he’s been productive and is deserving of receiving the fifth-year option this spring. The biggest knock on Harris has been his lack of explosive runs, but that hasn’t been the case this season. He came into Sunday’s game with eight runs of at least 20 yards, third-most in the league.
Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Baltimore.