The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their first loss in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts. Pittsburgh's offense got off to a slow start, and a big reasoning for that was the running game never quite finding its footing. It was difficult to move the ball on the ground for the Steelers, even when going up against one of the worst run defenses in the league thus far. Pittsburgh only really found production on the ground with Justin Fields or Cordarrelle Patterson, while Najee Harris struggled throughout the entire game.
Harris rushed for just 19 yards on 13 attempts for a horrific average of just 1.5 yards per carry. The Steelers' offensive line got beat up during the game and Harris never really had anywhere to run the ball as he got stood up at the line quite often. Harris may have given the Colts a little extra motivation during the game as well, due to his antics before kickoff. While Pittsburgh was running out on the field, he flipped off the camera, which went up on the big screen at Lucas Oil Stadium. He was asked about this by the local media on Thursday, and he gave a reasoning for his actions.
"Man, I be blacking out. I don't even remember me doing that."
Players have a lot of pent up emotions prior to a game, and it seems the running back let his emotions take over. It certainly added a little extra fuel to the fire for the Colts' defense, as Harris was bottled up the entire game. Harris laughed off the question with the media, but hopefully he learns that is something he probably shouldn't do again, especially when playing on the road.
After the game, it became clear that the Colts didn't appreciate what Harris did. Colts' Zaire Franklin took to social media to rip the running back, and also spoke out against Harris on his podcast. Franklin had a field day taking shots at Harris, where he insinuated the running back quit on the Steelers in the middle of the game. Harris was asked about Franklin's comments while speaking to the media, where he seemed unbothered by the linebacker's statements.
"Nah man, he's a great player. Great player. We was going back and forth all game, competition man, it is what it is. He, you know, tip my hat off to him in victory, tip my hat off in defeats. You know, so, when I saw that comment I was like, I was just laughing. You won, you can talk whatever you want. I mean it is what it is, can't win them all."
Harris is usually pretty stern with the media, but he was surprisingly open when asked about the situation with Franklin. He seemed unbothered and understood that the Colts won the game, so they can say whatever they want. Harris will now look to bounce back in Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.
Steelers' Najee Harris Has A Good Opportunity To Rebound Against The Dallas Cowboys
Pittsburgh's running game hasn't been extremely effective throughout the 2024 season, but things may open up for the offense against the Cowboys in Week 5. Dallas will be missing two key defenders in Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, and they already have a subpar defense when it comes to playing the run.
Harris should have plenty of opportunities to excel on Sunday night in what should be a close game. The Cowboys' defense has given up over 150 rushing yards in two of their four games up until this point, and Pittsburgh should be able to add on to that total between Harris and Fields running the football.
