Harris on Steelers offense: ‘Everything’s fixable’

Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff WriterNov 29, 2023, 04:17 PM ET
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- Previously covered the Kansas City Chiefs for the Kansas City Star and Oklahoma University for the Oklahoman.

PITTSBURGH — After losing to the Cleveland Browns 10 days ago, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris expressed confidence the offense had the ability to fix itself but questioned whether necessary changes would be implemented.

Speaking for the first time since those comments — and since the Steelers subsequently fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada — Harris walked back his earlier remarks and said Sunday’s victory against the Cincinnati Bengals was a step in the right direction.

“I don’t remember saying that, but everything’s fixable,” Harris said Wednesday. “It’s just a matter of time, patience, work, a certain type of drive you want. How bad do you want to fix it? How bad do you want to go as a team?

“I think that we come to understand what we want. We had that meeting, so it is more just putting it on the field and showing it. I think we took a step this past weekend.”

After the loss to the Browns, Harris said the offense would meet as a group, and although he declined Wednesday to share the message delivered in that meeting, he said it had a helpful impact in rallying the locker room together.

“Did it produce results? Yeah, I mean, you could say that,” Harris said. “We had a 400 total yard game. That’s the first time. But sometimes it’s not about the results. Sometimes it’s understanding — understanding of each other, the type of team that we are. This is a bond, and if we break up as a team, then we lost.

“If you guys write the stuff that you guys write, it could be whatever it wants, but if we lose each other, then we lost. So it’s more of just the trust in each other and knowing that nothing could break what we got in the room rather than what you guys write on social media.”

Harris, who had a season-high 99 rushing yards against the Bengals, praised offensive line coach Pat Meyer, running backs coach and interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner, and playcaller and quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan for their game-planning and their ability to unite the locker room amid a challenging week.

“I think that Pat and Coach Faulk did a good job, preparing us throughout the week,” Harris said. “I think us as a team did a really good job just because a lot of distractions. Obviously, the outside media, the coaching change on the offensive side.

“So us as an offense, going out there and executing at a high level too, and putting up those yardage for the first time, I tip my hat off for just us as a team, and Pat, Sully and Coach Faulk just getting us ready for the week, really just motivating us and doing a really good job, especially Coach Faulk, just his leadership in there. I think that it deserves more talk.”