Alabama NFL roundup: Steelers’ Najee Harris reaches rushing milestone for first time

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris carries the football during an NFL game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

Running back Najee Harris recorded his first 100-yard rushing game in the NFL as the Pittsburgh Steelers ended a three-game losing streak with a 27-19 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

A first-round draft choice from Alabama on April 29, Harris entered Sunday’s game with 185 yards and one touchdown on 55 rushing attempts in his first four NFL games.

Against the Broncos, Harris ran for 122 yards and one touchdown on 23 rushing attempts. Harris scored on a 1-yard run as Pittsburgh took a 17-6 lead with 2:12 left in the first half.

“He’s getting better every week, but I think that’s a reasonable expectation,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “We’re talking about a guy who has some talent, obviously, but who’s getting acclimated to the professional game. The learning experience is what it is. He’s a sharp guy. He’s learning quickly, and so it’s reasonable to expect him to continue to put together increasingly better performances, particularly in the short term.”

In the Steelers’ 24-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 26, Harris caught 14 passes for 102 yards. With Sunday’s performance, Harris became the second player in the Super Bowl Era with a 100-yard rushing game and a 100-yard receiving game within the first five contests of his NFL career. Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Warrick Dunn was the first to do so in 1997 on his way to the Pro Bowl as a rookie.

“It’s not so much me going over 100,” Harris said while deflecting credit to the Steelers’ offensive line, “but it’s just all the criticism that they’ve been taking this whole year, this whole offseason really, and then they come out there and they do that against a good team and against a good edge rusher especially in Von Miller and they overcame the odds and they came out there and they played like that, I was smiling for them.”

Harris reached the rushing milestone even though he did not carry the football in the final nine minutes of the game because of leg cramps.

“Did I cramp at Alabama?” Harris said in a response to a question at a postgame press conference. “Yeah, I cramped up a lot because I’m not used to the humidity. I’m from Cali. Ain’t no damn humidity over there, so I came over there, and I was passing out almost every other day.”

In Sunday’s game, Harris caught two passes for 20 yards as he became the fifth running back in the Super Bowl Era with at least 28 receptions in his first five NFL games.

Harris had 62 yards and his first NFL rushing touchdown on 15 carries in last week’s 27-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

“I felt our running game coming together last week,” Tomlin said. “But because of the nature and how the game was unfolding we weren’t able to have the volume of runs to reflect that. We minimized negativity a week ago, the pile was falling forward, we had hats on hats. I think what we were able to do today was a continuation of that. Hopefully, that’s encouraging from a big-picture perspective.”

Harris was among the 44 former Alabama players who got on the field on the fifth Sunday of the NFL’s 102nd season.

Seven other former Alabama players were at Denver-Pittsburgh game:

· Steelers defensive end Isaiah Buggs made one tackle.

· Minkah Fitzpatrick started at free safety for the Steelers. Fitzpatrick led Pittsburgh with 10 tackles, which equaled his career high. He’d made 10 tackles in three previous games, including the 2021 season-opener against the Buffalo Bills. Fitzpatrick’s Sunday tackles included one behind the line of scrimmage.

· Steelers center J.C. Hassenauer played but did not record any stats.

· Kareem Jackson started at strong safety for the Broncos. Jackson made seven tackles even though he was evaluated for a concussion during the game.

· Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is on injured reserve.

· Broncos cornerback Saivion Smith is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Patrick Surtain II started at right cornerback for the Broncos. Surtain made three tackles and broke up a pass.

In the other Sunday games:

Atlanta Falcons 27, New York Jets 20

· Falcons quarterback AJ McCarron (St. Paul’s Episcopal) is on injured reserve.

· C.J. Mosley (Theodore) started at linebacker for the Jets. Mosley made eight tackles and forced a fumble. New York recovered the fumble at its 13-yard line trailing 17-0 in the second quarter.

· Jets center Ross Pierschbacher is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley was designated as a game-day inactive. Ridley did not make the trip to London for personal reasons.

· Quinnen Williams (Wenonah) started at defensive tackle for the Jets. Williams made two tackles and registered two quarterback hits.

Philadelphia Eagles 21, Carolina Panthers 18

· Panthers guard Deonte Brown (Austin) made his NFL debut in the game, but he did not record any stats.

· Landon Dickerson started at left guard for the Eagles.

· Panthers long snapper Thomas Fletcher is on injured reserve.

· Jalen Hurts started at quarterback for the Eagles. Hurts completed 22-of-37 passes for 198 yards with no touchdowns and one interception and ran for 30 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. He also was charged with a fumble on a high snap that turned into a safety. Hurts scored on a 1-yard run with eight seconds left in the third quarter and a 6-yard run with 2:38 left in the game as Philadelphia rallied from a 15-3 deficit.

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· DeVonta Smith started at wide receiver for the Eagles. Smith led Philadelphia with seven receptions for 77 yards, and he caught a 2-point conversion pass after Philadelphia’s final touchdown with 2:38 to play. Smith also lost a fumble.

Green Bay Packers 25, Cincinnati Bengals 22 (OT)

· Jonah Williams started at left offensive tackle for the Bengals.

New England Patriots 25, Houston Texans 22

· Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore made two tackles.

· Texans safety Shyheim Carter is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Damien Harris started at running back for the Patriots. Harris ran for 58 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries. Harris scored New England’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run with 14:17 left in the first half after taking a direct snap. On the Patriots’ next possession, Harris lost a fumble as he reached the goal line on a play that was called a 5-yard touchdown run on the field but overturned on video review. Harris went to the locker room with a chest injury, but he returned and ran for 27 yards on three carries in a 54-yard touchdown drive that tied the game with 9:31 to play. Harris went down on New England’s next possession, and this time, he did not come back.

· Dont’a Hightower started at linebacker for the Patriots. Hightower made five tackles.

· Mark Ingram started at running back for the Texans. Ingram ran for 41 yards on 16 carries.

· Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings (Dadeville) is on injured reserve.

· Mac Jones started at quarterback for the Patriots. Jones completed 23-of-30 passes for 231 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Jones threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Hunter Henry as New England tied the game at 22-22 with 9:31 to play.

MAC JONES, PATRIOTS OVERCOME TEXANS’ UPSET ATTEMPT

Tennessee Titans 37, Jacksonville Jaguars 19

· Rashaan Evans (Auburn High) started at inside linebacker for the Titans. Evans made one tackle. He missed a portion of the game because of a quadriceps injury.

· Derrick Henry started at running back for the Titans. Henry ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries. In recording his seventh consecutive 100-yard game against an AFC South opponent, Henry scored on a 1-yard run with 14:56 left in the second quarter, a 9-yard run with 9:48 left in the third quarter and a 10-yard run with 1:54 left in the fourth quarter. Henry has run for 14 touchdowns against Jacksonville – four more than any other player. He also became the third player in franchise history with at least 60 rushing touchdowns as he pushed his career total to 62. Earl Campbell ran for 73 touchdowns and Eddie George 64 for the Oilers/Titans franchise.

· Titans wide receiver Julio Jones (Foley) was designated as a game-day inactive. A hamstring injury sidelined Jones for the second game in a row.

· Jaguars linebacker Dylan Moses is on the non-football injury list and not eligible to play.

· Cam Robinson started at left offensive tackle for the Jaguars.

Minnesota Vikings 19, Detroit Lions 17

· Lions linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton (Carver-Montgomery) is on injured reserve.

· Lions defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand is on injured reserve.

· Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. is on injured reserve.

· Dalvin Tomlinson started at defensive tackle for the Vikings. Tomlinson made one tackle.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 45, Miami Dolphins 17

· Raekwon Davis started at defensive tackle for the Dolphins. Davis made four tackles in his return to the Miami lineup. He had missed the previous three games while on injured reserve after sustaining a knee injury during the season-opener. He returned to practice on Wednesday.

· O.J. Howard (Autauga Academy) started at tight end for the Buccaneers. Howard caught two passes for 19 yards.

· Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is on injured reserve.

· Buccaneers long snapper Carson Tinker handled the snaps on six extra points, two field goals and one punt.

· Jaylen Waddle started at wide receiver for the Dolphins. Waddle caught two passes for 31 yards and had a 2-yard run.

New Orleans Saints 33, Washington Football Team 22

· Jonathan Allen started at right defensive tackle for Washington. Allen made two tackles and registered three quarterback hits.

· Landon Collins started at strong safety for Washington. Collins made six tackles.

· Daron Payne (Shades Valley) started at left defensive tackle for Washington. Payne made three tackles, recorded a sack and recovered a fumble. The sack was the first of the season for Payne. He had a 6-yard return on his fumble recovery to give Washington possession at the New Orleans 44-yard line in the first quarter, which led to a touchdown and a 13-7 lead.

· Washington wide receiver Cam Sims was designated as a game-day inactive. Sims could not play because of a hamstring injury.

Los Angeles Chargers 47, Cleveland Browns 42

· Ronnie Harrison started at strong safety for the Browns. Harrison made two tackles and broke up a pass.

· Jedrick Wills Jr. was designated as a game-day inactive. An ankle injury prevented Wills from practicing last week.

· Browns linebacker Mack Wilson (Carver-Montgomery) made two special-teams tackles.

Chicago Bears 20, Las Vegas Raiders 9

· Raiders safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Raiders guard Lester Cotton (Central-Tuscaloosa) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Raiders running back Kenyan Drake ran for 11 yards on two carries and returned two kickoffs for 35 yards.

· Eddie Jackson started at safety for the Bears. Jackson made four tackles.

· Josh Jacobs started at running back for the Raiders. Jacobs ran for 48 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries and caught four passes for 19 yards. Jacobs scored on a 1-yard plunge as Las Vegas cut the Bears’ lead to 14-9 with 9:01 left to play.

· Alex Leatherwood started at right guard for the Raiders. A first-round draft choice on April 29, Leatherwood had started the first four games of his NFL career at right tackle.

· Henry Ruggs III (Lee-Montgomery) started at wide receiver for the Raiders. Ruggs caught three passes for 51 yards.

· Raiders defensive tackle Damion Square (Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.

Arizona Cardinals 17, San Francisco 49ers 10

· Forty-Niners cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (Gadsden City) played but did not record any stats.

· Forty-Niners safety Jared Mayden is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Cardinals safety Deionte Thompson played but did not record any stats.

Dallas Cowboys 44, New York Giants 20

· Amari Cooper started at wide receiver for the Cowboys. Cooper caught three passes for 60 yards, including a 24-yarder for a touchdown with 36 seconds left in the first half as Dallas took a 17-10 lead.

· Trevon Diggs started at cornerback for the Cowboys. Diggs made five tackles, intercepted a pass and broke up another one. Diggs has intercepted at least one pass in each of Dallas’ first five games this season and has six interceptions in the 2021 campaign. Diggs became the third player in the Super Bowl Era with an interception in each of the first five games of a season, joining the Washington Redskins’ Lemar Parrish in 1979 and Minnesota Vikings’ Brian Russell in 2003. He’s also the third player in the Super Bowl Era with six interceptions five games into a season, joining the Vikings’ Nate Wright in 1974 and Pittsburgh Steelers’ Sam Washington in 1984. Diggs became the first Dallas player with six interceptions in a season since Anthony Henry in 2007. No Cowboys player has had more than six interceptions in a season since Everson Walls had nine in 1985.

· Cowboys wide receiver Robert Foster is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Xavier McKinney started at free safety for the Giants. McKinney made six tackles.

· Reggie Ragland (Bob Jones) started at linebacker for the Giants. Ragland made seven tackles, recorded a tackle for loss, broke up a pass and recovered a fumble. Ragland recovered the fumble at the New York 5-yard line with the Giants trailing 3-0 in the first quarter.

· Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson is on the physically-unable-to-perform list and not eligible to play.

Buffalo Bills 38, Kansas City Chiefs 20

· Chief wide receiver Gehrig Dieter is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Chiefs running back Derrick Gore is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Jarran Reed started at left defensive tackle for the Chiefs

· Levi Wallace started at cornerback for the Bills. Wallace made six tackles.

Week 5 kicked off with the Los Angeles Rams beating the Seattle Seahawks 26-17 on Thursday night.

Week 5 concludes with the Indianapolis Colts-Baltimore Ravens game at 7:15 p.m. CDT Monday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. ESPN will televise the game.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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