Raiders Opponent Offensive Star: RB Najee Harris

The Las Vegas Raiders are looking to rebound from a loss when they welcome the Pittsburgh Steelers to Allegiant Stadium for Sunday Night Football.

This is the Raiders’ first home game of the season, a chance to bounce back in front of their home crowd.

The Steelers are looking to win their second straight game after defeating the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football. They won with defense, on a night where their offense could not move the ball.

They will try to improve offensively against the Raiders, and that starts with establishing the run. The Raiders were able to stop the run against the Denver Broncos, but the Buffalo Bills rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns against the Silver and Black last week.

Najee Harris is the top running back for the Steelers, a player who they selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft after an illustrious career at Alabama. Harris has made good on that first-round selection thus far, rushing for a total of 2,234 yards in his first two seasons.

Harris has become a high-volume player for the Steelers’ offense, rushing more than 300 times in his rookie season and over 270 times in 2022. However, Harris had fewer than four yards per carry in both seasons.

Harris’ rookie season was impressive, as he posted three 100-plus rushing yard games and scoring seven touchdowns. Last season, he had only one 100-plus rushing yard game, but scored seven touchdowns.

Harris had 16 carries for 53 yards against the Raiders in Week 16 last season and also caught six passes for 42 yards. He was essential on the Steelers’ game-winning drive, providing a check-down option for quarterback Kenny Pickett.

Harris is not the fastest running back, but rather wins with agility and strength. If the Steelers are opening up running lanes for him, he can get downhill and be tough to tackle.

The Raiders should expect Harris to receive a large share of carries, and their defensive line will need to have a better effort against Harris and the Steelers than they did against the Bills.

The Steelers have a young quarterback and inexperienced weapons on the outside, so Harris has been the bulk of their offense, and should continue to be against the Raiders.

The Silver and Black return home to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Sept. 24, at 8:20 p.m. EDT/5:20 p.m. PDT.

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