The Pittsburgh Steelers were well aware that the weather forecast called for a nasty day of football for Saturday's 2023 Week 18 game against the Baltimore Ravens. With Mason Rudolph riding a hot hand into their regular season finale, the Steelers needed to adjust their script and lean on the backfield. The weather turned out to be worse and colder than expected, but Najee Harris and the offensive line rose to the task. Considering the Ravens played the majority of their defensive starters, Harris wanted John Harbaugh to be concerned about the Steelers' physicality taking a toll on his starting defense.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris knows the Steelers' standard and wants himself and the team to live up to those expectations
Steelers' Physical Run Game Was Everything Harris Wanted
Harris knew that if the Steelers we going to come away from their Week 18 clash in Baltimore with a win, the offense would need to go through the Steelers' backfield. Considering that the team had spent most of the 2023 offseason and regular season trying to bring life back to a stagnant rushing attack, a bad-weather running game seemed like it could be a tall order. As it turned out, Pittsburgh answered the call perfectly.
Najee Harris totaled 112 rushing yards and a TD on 26 carries (+14 RYOE) against the Ravens, his third straight game of positive RYOE.
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 7, 2024
Harris saw most of his production come on inside runs, recording 100 yards and a TD on 19 such carries.#PITvsBAL | #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/DkRPpQxqoh
With the same strength and effort that made him a standout at Alabama, Harris carried the offense to the tune of 112 yards and a touchdown. Following the must-have win, Harris made sure the media understood that neither he nor the team cared whether they were playing Baltimore's defensive starters or backups. Apparently, if Harbaugh decided to start his defensive players, Harris wanted to bring so much physicality that the Ravens' head coach called for a retreat.
"We didn't really care about who was out there or how long they were gonna play, really, you know, whoever was in there, we wanted to play so physical that if they did play their 1's, their guys, we wanted Harbaugh to say, 'get 'em outta there', because of how physical we're playing, so I think we did that today."
Harris hasn't been perfect in 2023. The whole Matt Canada debacle set things back, so then the staff required a reshuffle and the steady hand of Mike Tomlin to keep the train on the rails. Despite all this, Harris came into Pittsburgh's final regular season contest with complete focus and a desire to enforce his will on the field. It truly didn't matter to him which player he was running through, he was ready to take the game over.
"I mean, we wasn't really too worried about who was gonna play. We knew guys wasn't gonna play, shoot, like, last year we did the same guys, without guys in it. I mean, whenever teams play against us, we're never worried about who's playing or who's not, you know? We just gotta worry about getting the win, so this game right here, we knew that they was gonna rest some of the guys, but the main thing for us to do was get the win."
When everything was on the line, Pittsburgh turned to Harris, and he answered the call and then some. The Steelers needed assistance from other teams in order for their 2023 season to continue into the playoffs, but regardless of seeding, the Steelers aren't looking like a team anyone would want to play in the postseason.
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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris understands that for the 2023 season to be successful, the team has to stick together
Steelers' Road To The Playoffs Hasn't Been Smooth
Thanks to yet another injury to a key player, the Steelers will most likely be without TJ Watt for their first playoff game. After a truly unfortunate knee injury during Pittsburgh's 17-10 win over the Ravens, Watt could be forced to miss several weeks depending on how his recovery goes.
TJ Watt injury update 🚨 @JJWatt says it's a Grade 2 MCL sprain. pic.twitter.com/pSSOTTdcn2
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 7, 2024
At best, though not expected, Pittsburgh will have Watt, but not nearly close to fully healthy. Watt is used to dealing with injury, but there is a difference between something a player can push through and an injury that simply needs time to heal. The only way that Watt won't be on the field for Pittsburgh's postseason game is if he physically cannot do it; that is an absolute fact.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher TJ Watt is one of the rare players that can change any game at any time
After Watt left the game, the defense stepped up and shut down the Ravens' comeback attempt. One of the goals for the 2023 offseason was to create a potential revolving door of edge rushers and defensive backups who could create a Watt-by-committee approach, and it came through against Baltimore. Markus Golden and Nick Herbig will most likely be looked to again to play a much larger role, with Watt looking at a multiple-week recovery timeline. As they showed against the Ravens, though, this defense might just be able to hold the fort until Watt gets himself healthy.
Will the Steelers win their Wild Card game? What will the final score be? #SteelerNation
