Najee Harris runs to daylight, sparking Steelers' offense in win against Raiders

LAS VEGAS — If Najee Harris continues to run the way he did Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, the Pittsburgh Steelers might regret declining to pick up his fifth-year option in the spring.

By one statistical measure, Harris had the best game of his four-year Steelers career when he rushed for 106 yards on 14 carries in a 32-13 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Harris averaged 7.6 yards per carry, the highest total in 57 career games with the franchise. It surpassed the 6.71 yards he averaged against Cleveland in the penultimate game of his rookie season in 2021.

Harris attained that average by flashing different styles against the Raiders. He used his strength to bull for a 15-yard run in the first half, he made a nifty cutback on a 26-yard gain in the third quarter and displayed burst to the outside on his 36-yard touchdown run that gave the Steelers a 22-7 cushion.

“I know what I can do,” Harris said. “I’ve been doing that since college. I’ve been doing that in the league.”

Just not with any regularity since he joined the Steelers.

Before he became the team’s first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Harris had 13 100-yard games at Alabama, including 12 in his final two seasons with the Crimson Tide. By comparison, Harris topped 100 yards Sunday for just the seventh time in four NFL seasons. He has more games with fewer than 30 rushing yards (eight) in his Steelers career.

Such inconsistency is one reason the Steelers didn’t pick up his $6.7 million fifth-year option for the 2025 season.

“Sorry I can’t make every game like that,” Harris said. “You guys are just waiting to write something about me. I’m going to try to do it again next game and maybe it will be something good. It was one of those games where (stuff) was working well.”

In the previous two weeks, losses to Indianapolis and Dallas, Harris averaged 2.26 yards per attempt. After being stuffed for 19 yards on 13 carries against the Colts, he totaled 42 rushing yards on 14 attempts against Dallas.

Not only did Harris bounce back against the Raiders, collecting 75 rushing yards after halftime, the Steelers pieced together a season-high 183 yards on the ground. Quarterback Justin Fields chipped in 59 yards and two touchdowns.

“It was how the offensive line, receivers, tight ends, all of them came together and realized for us to be efficient in the run game, it’s going to take all of us,” Harris said. “I do what I do. I can only do so much. This is a team sport, and for big plays to happen, for splash plays to happen, it takes all of us.”

The tone was set from the opening drive when Harris followed an 11-yard reception with a 13-yard run. In the second quarter, he kept churning his legs and, with a push from tight end Pat Freiermuth, among others, gained 15 yards on a run up the middle.

It led to a field goal that cut the Steelers’ deficit to 7-6.

“When drives aren’t going so well, you have to have a play to spark it,” Harris said. “It’s what can I do for the team to let them know we have to keep pushing.”

Coach Mike Tomlin also credited the downfield blocking that Harris received and not just from the usual suspects.

“I just thought it was a collective effort,” he said. “Not only the bigs, but the perimeter people. And obviously Najee. … Anytime you have a run output like that, it’s not an individual, it’s a collective.”

Harris’ touchdown, his first of season, came one play after the Steelers had to swap centers. Rookie Zach Frazier injured his ankle on a Harris run that netted 5 yards. His replacement, Ryan McCollum, threw a block that enabled Harris to break to the outside and get through traffic before he dived to the pylon for the score.

“It was awesome,” Freiermuth said. “Najee works his (butt) off every single day. He comes into the building every single day with a smile on his face ready to work. Seeing it pay off in this game, we really leaned on him.”

The touchdown gave the Steelers a two-score lead they would not relinquish. Harris carried only two more times the rest of the game and sat out the final two series while the Steelers were protecting their lead.

“That was huge,” outside linebacker T.J. Watt said. “Anytime you’re able to run the ball in the NFL, it’s demoralizing for a defense. It also allows us to get momentum.”

Harris hopes the momentum can carry over to next week when the Steelers face the New York Jets at Acrisure Stadium.

“The more we come together … they will see that if you want to be efficient in both passing and running, you have to get in there and block,” he said. “There is a dirty part of everybody’s job. For us, it’s pass protection. For receivers, it’s getting in there and blocking. Sometimes you’re blocking a D-end and you’re not sized up well, but getting something on him creates a bigger play. When you get that on film and see that, it’s going to be something to build upon.”