Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris believes part of the reason why the team’s offense has gotten off to a sluggish start in 2022 is that local media keeps asking questions about the group’s disappointing performance over the first three weeks of the season.
The Steelers’ offense this season has not been very good. That side of the ball led by quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was not believed to be one of the best in the NFL in 2022, but the unit was expected to perform better than they have thus far. Over the first three games, Trubisky has only thrown for over 200 yards once (207 last week), and none of the running backs or wide receivers have delivered standout performances of 100 yards or more.
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If not for a four-interception performance by Joe Burrow in Week 1 for the Bengals, the Steelers would probably be winless to begin their 2022 campaign. Despite some legit weapons in Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and Najee Harris, the offense is near the bottom in passing and total yards per game this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back says media is causing a divide in the offensive unit
When asked about the team’s recent performances during a media scrum on Friday, Harris chose a different approach to explain the offenses’ problems after three games. Instead of taking complete ownership for the poor play, the 2021 first-round pick claimed the media was part of the reason for how the group has performed. And that their inquiries into what has gone wrong are “breaking us apart.”
- Najee Harris stats (2022): 40 rushes, 128 yards, 1 TD, 3.2 YPC
“I think it’s just the social media and the interviews or interviewers like you guys, not trying to put you guys in that category, you guys are just making the — just kind of breaking us apart in a way. Because you guys keep asking questions like this. Like we’re at a point where we’re building right now. We’re working on it. But you guys come in here and ask questions of all the receivers and all the guys and Mitch about what is not working. That’s not how you build, and that’s not how you get better.
“You guys are breaking us up, and we need to find a way where we can just stay together and come together as a team and focus on what needs to matter most. Play calling, all that is fine. It’s just us executing. You guys keep blaming other people, it’s us in this locker room. We all need to come together and focus on what we need to improve on. Every week, every day we go out to practice. It’s not going to be perfect, but as long as the trajectory is going forward, that’s all that matters.”
– Najee Harris on Steelers issues on offense
The Steelers are back in action on Sunday afternoon in a 1 PM ET matchup against Zach Wilson and the New York Jets.