Najee Harris Stars In Front of Mentor Marshawn Lynch

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris arguably had his best game of his career on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, rushing for 122 yards on 27 carries (4.5 average) and two touchdowns. He could have had a third rushing touchdown, but he slid down to ice the game and run the clock out. Harris’ 122 yards rushing was his most since Week 16 of 2021, a career-best 188-yard performance against the Cleveland Browns.

Harris was a handful for Seattle defenders to tackle all game. On both of his touchdown runs, he broke several tackles to get into the end zone. On his second touchdown, he literally carried Seahawks as teammates pushed him in for the score. Najee Harris gained 118 of his rushing yards after contact, the second-most in a game in his career, according to Next Gen Stats.

Harris’ bruising rushing style fittingly resembled his mentor from the Bay Area and former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. Lynch was even in attendance to see Harris’ banner day.

“It’s always good to see Marshawn. Pretty much the guys in my circle, they (were) all there at the game,” said Harris, who’s represented by Lynch’s Beast Mode Marketing agency. “(Seattle) is obviously a close place to home (the Bay Area), so a lot of guys were able to make it. It actually surprised me, because (Marshawn) is always traveling everywhere. I was on the field stretching and he just came up and hugged me. So did everybody else. It’s good to see my team, I haven’t seen them in a minute. I just talk to them over the phone because of the distance, but it’s good to see the guys in your circle.”

Harris spent most of his childhood in the Bay Area, but he also lived in Seattle for a brief time. His dad actually currently lives close to Lumen Field in Seattle, so it was sort of a homecoming for Harris.

“My dad lives literally right by it. I drive past it a lot, but I’ve never been in it,” Harris said earlier this week. “Whenever I visit my dad in Seattle, I always see it because my dad lives downtown, like literally right across the street from it.”

Harris certainly balled out in front of family and friends on Sunday in Seattle. It seemed like he played with a little extra energy. The Steelers will need an encore performance from Harris next week against the Baltimore Ravens with a playoff spot on the line.