Damien Harris Impresses in Regular Season Debut vs. Chiefs
There weren't a lot of reasons for New England Patriots fans to be excited after the team's 26-10 loss to the Kansas Chiefs Monday night.
Well, there was one thing. Second-year running back Damien Harris played great for New England.
With Sony Michel now on injured reserve, Harris got the first start of his NFL career. And he didn't waste the opportunity that was given to him.
Harris ran for 100 yards on 17 carries. He was one of the only driving forces for New England on offense in a rough outing against the defending Super Bowl champions.
If he continues to run like this, Michel could have some competition.
During the summer there was plenty of talk about how well Harris was doing in training camp. Some even thought that he could start over Michel. Seeing that Harris was essentially redshirted for his rookie season this came as a shock, but now we know why Harris was receiving so much hype.
After his debut, Harris talked about his mentality entering this season.
"I think I've just improved as a player," Harris said. "Coming into this year, I had the mentality of doing whatever I could to help this team be successful. Last year I didn't really have that big of a role as far as games went but every day in practice I try and get better. I try to make the guys around me better with my effort, with my practice habits. So coming into this year I just wanted to take another step."
If Harris keeps performing as he did on Monday night, he will have taken a significant step forward. It would probably be described as a leap. He will have jumped from the bottom of the depth chart to the Patriots' feature back.
The next step for Harris is proving that he can be consistent. Everyone can have a good game, but can Harris string together a few good games?
It's hard not to like Harris. He runs downhill and even makes one or two yard carries look interesting. It's a nice change of pace from Michel. Still, on Monday night we saw that Harris has breakaway speed, as he had a 41-yard gain at the end of the third quarter.
Harris will have the opportunity to build off a strong start, as the Patriots face the lackluster Denver Broncos in Week 5. Another 100-yard game could be in sight for the Alabama product, which will give him an even stronger grasp of the lead back duties in New England.
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