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Steelers' Najee Harris Responds to Colts LB

The Pittsburgh Steelers running back ended a back-and-forth between him and the Colts.

Conor Hutchison

Sep 29, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris (22) is pushed out of bounds by multiple Indianapolis Colts during the second quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
Sep 29, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris (22) is pushed out of bounds by multiple Indianapolis Colts during the second quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
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PITTSBURGH -- After the Indianapolis Colts handed the Pittsburgh Steelers their first loss of the season, Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin took to X to call out Steelers' star running back Najee Harris.

"Kid is soft. 84 run harder," Franklin said.

As seen in the X post, Harris gestured both middle fingers to Colts fans on his way out of the visitors' tunnel.

"I don't really know that guy personally. I wouldn't say I have personal feelings towards that guy, but what I will say is, first of all, he flipped the double birds to our fans. That's the only thing I'm saying... You flipping off my city coming in, and then you going to go put out that type of performance, I'm gonna speak on it," Franklin said on his podcast, The Trenches

Maybe Harris shouldn't have given the Colts and Franklin any extra motivation. Against the Colts, Harris had one of his least efficient games of his career recording only 19 yards on 13 carries -- a real downtick from Harris's 70-yards-per-game average going into Indianapolis.

Twisting the knife, fellow running back Cordarrelle Patterson, the man Franklin called "84" in his post, needed only six carries to record 43 yards including four first downs. Unfortunately, Patterson was injured on his explosive series, and the Steelers fumbled just outside the endzone.

With backup running back Jaylen Warren nursing a knee injury and Patterson an ankle injury, Harris will have to step back up and brush off Franklin's trash talk.

Based on Harris's reaction after the loss, it sounds like the star's head is in the right place.

"Great player," Harris said about Franklin. "Was going back and forth, at it all game. Competition, man, it is what it is. When I saw the comment, I was just laughing, like hey man, congratulations... you won, you can talk whatever you want. It is what it is."

Harris has eclipsed a 1,000 yards the last three seasons, but after a tough performance against the Colts is on pace to finish 31 yards short of that magic number.

Lucky for Harris the Steelers next host the Dallas Cowboys, a team giving up 4.6 yards per carry, on Sunday Night Football. Averaging 3.4 yards per carry on the season, Harris is poised to have that coveted bounce-back game.

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Conor Hutchison
CONOR HUTCHISON

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