Steelers' Harris defends coaching: 'We have to play better'
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris has a problem with people solely pointing the blame on the team's coaching staff amid a difficult start to the 2023 campaign.
Harris stood up for his coaches Wednesday, telling media that the players are the culprits for Pittsburgh's poor performance.
"I see everybody talking about this coaching stuff, about play-calling, but you have to know how football works," Harris said, according to ESPN's Brooke Pryor. "Coaches only could coach, but we gotta execute the plays."
He added: "We have to execute at the end of the day no matter who's back there calling the plays. I (can) honestly say we're not doing that right now, not coaches. ... It's just players. We have to play better. You know what I mean? We can't just keep looking at the coaches as an outlet."
The Steelers' offense has been heavily criticized, especially offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Pittsburgh has only mustered four offensive touchdowns through four games. The unit was held out of the end zone entirely in its 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans.
"We can say what we want, but like I said, players play, coaches coach," Harris proclaimed. "We can't just keep looking at pointing fingers. We gotta point at ourselves. It's the man in the mirror, really. This is the NFL. Everyone runs the same damn plays."
Head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday he won't make any changes to the offensive staff or play-calling duties at this time. Tomlin stated the team will utilize padded practices more after noticing a lack of physicality in the Steelers' loss to the Texans.
Harris agreed with his head coach's assessment.
"Truthfully, I just think that we're just not playing with that edge right now," Harris said. "That's what we need to do better."
The Steelers (2-2) are averaging just 15.5 points per game while allowing 25 per contest. Their offense ranks 29th in yardage, while the defense is 30th in yards surrendered per game. Pittsburgh welcomes the Baltimore Ravens (3-1) on Sunday.