Halicke: It takes 'all 11 of us' to spring Harris' biggest ground game

LAS VEGAS -- Fans have been waiting for the dam to break on offense. And, even after a 32-13 victory over the Raiders Sunday afternoon at Allegiant Field, it still hasn't.

However, a career day for Najee Harris gave us a necessary ingredient needed for the Steelers to have the success they so desperately want on the ground.

"Really, it was how the offensive line, receivers, tight ends -- all of them came together and realized for us to be efficient in the running game, it takes all of us," Harris said after the game. "I do what I do in pressing, but I can only do so much. At the same time, this is a team sport. For the big plays to happen, for the splash plays everyone wants to see, everyone talks about they want to see more, it takes all 11 of us."

Harris had a season-high 106 yards on the ground, which falls far short of his career high of 188 yards against the Browns in Week 17, 2021 (Ben Roethlisberger's final home game). However, Harris didn't need a ton of carries to get to that mark. He only carried the ball 14 times, which gave him an average of 7.6 yards per carry, surpassing his previous career high of 6.7 yards (also the Browns game) by almost a full yard. 

He also scored his first touchdown of the season, which exemplified what Harris was talking about:

Now, this is a ridiculous effort by Harris. He's nearly swallowed up near the line of scrimmage, but makes a cut and gets upfield through a small crease, and also caps it off with a ridiculous dive that started at the 5-yard line. 

But, watch Pat Freiermuth throw a critical block 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. Watch his awareness to look back, see that Harris was springing free and then turn to find the closest defender and seal off the sideline for Harris to take off. The touchdown doesn't happen without that block.

"When I look at it, I just felt the collective energy and effort that was necessary," Mike Tomlin said of the run after the game.

You could see other examples of everyone getting involved in finding a man to block throughout the game, whether or not it directly impacted the play or not. Here's a run by Harris that'll likely get NFL Network's Kyle Brandt worked up in a frenzy for an Angry Run nominee:

Now, after you're done watching Harris carry the Raiders' defense on his back, go back and watch Roman Wilson out of the slot go out and immediately meet No. 39 for a block. It's not the cleanest block, but he deters him enough for Harris to be able to run through and get more yards after contact.

Little things like this matter. Receivers don't have to be perfect blockers. But, anything they can do to make the running back's job easier can help turn smaller runs into larger runs.

However, it should be noted that Harris ran better than we've seen him run all season. The offensive line did their job on enough plays for Harris to take full advantage. While the touchdown run was very impressive and the angry run will most likely get him a photo with Brandt's scepter, this run might take the cake for me:

This might be Harris' best run because he displayed quick vision to see where the hole is opening in a zone concept, then makes a cornerback miss in a big way and rattles off a huge gain. These zone concepts try to create these one-on-one matchups in space with cornerbacks because they're the worst tacklers on the field. It helps even more when the running back can break his ankles the way Harris did.

The collective effort by everyone on offense produced the most encouraging performance on the ground so far this season. Not only did the team rush for a season-high 183 yards, but they averaged 5.2 yards per carry along the way. That's the kind of efficiency that they've desperately needed. And, it's worth noting that the yardage total is also impressive given the several short fields provided by the defense and special teams due to turnovers and a blocked punt.

And that efficiency doesn't happen in this game without everyone pitching in. The offensive line has to do its job. The running back has to make the right reads. And, as we saw today, the guys on the perimeter have to make their blocks, too.

"If you look around the league, those are what sparks big runs," Harris said. "That's how big runs happen, the downfield play from other guys. I think that was something that showed today."

If they can put this together against more formidable foes in future weeks, maybe -- just, maybe -- this running game can finally get going for more than just one game.