Steelers' Najee Harris Slammed As A "Teacher's Pet" To Mike Tomlin After Demoralizing Effort

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a proud franchise built on the belief that suffocating defense and a reliable running game will win you football games. It has been quite some time since both of those things felt relevant in Pittsburgh, and 2023 seems to be a low point in their history. After yet another crushing loss, it isn't just the result that is being brutalized by both fans and media; it was the horrific lack of effort that everyone saw on Saturday night. When the Steelers needed him most, Najee Harris became invisible, and that isn't close to good enough for a player of his draft status.

Steelers' Harris Turns In Dismal Performance

Everywhere you looked on Saturday night, there was a Steelers player making a simple mistake or just not trying at all. One of those was Harris, who barely made a dent by gaining 33 yards and making some questionable calls on where to run the ball.

Dejan Kovacevic, owner of DK Pittsburgh Sports, tore into Harris early on Sunday morning and didn't hold back. It wasn't just the lack of yardage accrued by Harris; it was the way the former first-round draft pick went about underachieving. Considering the Alabama pedigree that Harris brought with him to Pittsburgh, having these kinds of subpar performances in playoff-like games is beyond unacceptable.

"Worse by far, Harris would flail about the field without a compass en route to 33 yards on 12 carries. If removing one 15-yard run, he averaged 1.63 yards per carry on the rest. He'd have had more by falling forward onto his face."

Harris wasn't the only one who Kovacevic held accountable, as Mike Tomlin got slammed for being out-coached yet again in a huge game. For the third consecutive game, a Tomlin-led football team played without heart or hope, and it was painfully obvious. As for whether Harris deserved the 12-carry day he got, according to Kovacevic, those were far too many opportunities considering what Harris was doing with them.

"And yet, because Tomlin treats Harris akin to a teacher's pet, he kept feeding Harris on first down after first down after first down, enough to kill several drives before they had a chance to get going."

In years past, this might have been able to be shrugged off as a slip by Tomlin, but the harsh reality is that this is how the Steelers play. The standard has fallen short on a regular basis, to the point where 16-point offensive productions have become worthy of a celebration simply because of the yardage amount. With only a few games left in the 2023 season, perhaps Steelers fans should be grateful there isn't much more of this kind of football left to watch.

Steelers' Floundering Has Exposed Their Lack Of Ability

After what everyone saw from the Steelers during the 2023 preseason, the expectations were through the roof. As the 2023 regular season began, it was apparent that whatever fluke occurred in the preseason wasn't going to be carrying over to any games that actually counted.

Kenny Pickett has been haphazard at best when he is on the field, but injuries and incompetent coaching have made it nearly impossible to properly evaluate the second-year quarterback. An offensive line that was supposed to have been built for strength and grit finds themselves constantly outmatched and unable to open up any holes for the running backs. As for the backfield, other than the surprising emergence of Jaylen Warren, it's been just another area where the Steelers fall short.

Tomlin has nothing new to say, and even his most beloved sayings are being openly mocked now as they offer zero solutions to the debacle going on in the franchise. It's one thing to know that your coach is on the hot seat, but things are done differently in Pittsburgh, so failures of this level don't automatically mean a changing of the guard. While Matt Canada may have taken the brunt of the punishment, unless the Steelers pull off one of the more impressive turnarounds in recent memory, more heads will roll.

When it is obvious that something isn't working, steps should be taken to correct those errors. However, that hasn't happened for the 2023 Steelers, and with only three games left to go until the season ends, it's unlikely that anything drastic will end up happening. Instead, the eyes of Steelers fans everywhere are mournfully turning to 2024 with the sad realization that even then, there are few answers and too many questions.

Who should be fired when the Steelers 2023 season has concluded?

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