As you know, the Steelers will be trying to snap a 2-game losing streak Sunday afternoon in Green Bay. You might think that is unchartered territory for Najee Harris since, you know, he did play for Alabama and all.
"Welcome to the bigs!" Mike Tomlin laughed when asked how Harris is dealing with losing some games.
But Harris says he has faced that adversity before. "I've been playing football all my life so I've been a part of good and bad teams, college, school, whatever," he reflected after Friday's practice.
Bad teams? In college? During his four years there 'Bama went 51-4 so I guess the bad team was the 2019 edition when the Crimson Tide lost two games and had to settle for a berth in the Citrus Bowl. But they did not lose those two games in a row.
Harris was, however, on two Antioch High School teams that lost 5 games in a single season and he did lose two straight games as a sophomore and as a senior. So Harris has been here before. But, as far as we know, he has yet to lose 3 straight games. (His Pee Wee records are unavailable).
Of course, if the Steelers are to avoid that third straight loss, a big afternoon from Harris would help. Even a medium-sized effort could make the difference, especially on the ground.
After last week's game when he caught 14 passes for 102 yards, Harris' yards from scrimmage numbers are presentable. He ranks 18th in the NFL with 91 yards per game but he is just 35th in rushing at 41 yards per game. Plus, many of his numbers – like those of his teammates – ended up being empty stats.
"The passes I caught were not designed routes, they were mostly check-downs," Harris pointed out, downplaying those receiving numbers.
"I'm glad I can be somebody valuable we can check it down to and just try to make a play so that's really it."
Although Harris says he is comfortable in any kind of receiving role, what he would prefer to do is run the ball so they will keep at it. "It is just one thing away, you know," he said echoing the words of offensive coordinator Matt Canada. "It is a whole new offense, a whole new team but, yeah, we're always one block away, one read away, one whatever away so we're not doing a lot to change it up we just got to execute it and we're working on that."
The offensive line has come under much criticism – and deservedly so – but Harris needs to do his part. "He has missed a hole or two as well, he would admit that," said Tomlin. Harris does.
"There's some I have missed, obviously," he agreed. "I just need to get better at it, do better at getting a feel for the line. (I) just have to keep improving and that's what we're doing right now. We're on the stage of improvement, of getting past the first step. We understand there's a lot of negativity out there but we're just worried about what we gotta work on and trying to improve."
With the Packers and their legendary QB up next, Harris knows that improvement cannot come soon enough. "Aaron Rodgers is obviously a great player," Harris acknowledged. "I don't think it's really too much pressure on our part. We do have to score and do our best to keep Aaron off the field as much as possible, just find ways to move the ball and score."
So far, that's been much easier said than done.
