Steelers' Najee Harris could equal an NFL record against Bears and better his odds of winning NFL OROY

Najee Harris was drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft to help ease the pressure on Ben Roethlisberger's shoulders as he looks for one last Super Bowl appearance with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

While Harris hasn't been producing like he did during his collegiate career in Alabama, he's been a major figure in the Steelers' offense, and it's starting to show with his number of carries trending up in the last few weeks.

Depending on his performance against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, the Steelers' running back will be now on track to join an elite class of NFL running backs,

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Najee Harris could equal NFL record against Bears

Being a great player since your rookie year is an incredibly difficult task to achieve in the NFL, and only the elite can do that. Harris is close to doing so.

The Steelers running back is entering Week 9 with a streak of three consecutive games with, at least, 115 scrimmage yards and a touchdown.

Week 6, vs Denver Broncos: 142 scrimmage yards (122 rushing, 20 receiving), rushing TD
Week 7, vs Seattle Seahawks: 127 scrimmage yards (81 rushing, 46 receiving), receiving TD
Week 8, vs Cleveland Browns: 120 scrimmage yards (91 rushing, 29 receiving), rushing TD

If he gets these numbers against the Bears, he would be only the fifth running back to ever do it four times in a row, the first since Alvin Kamara in 2017.

Franco Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1972: 6 games
Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints, 2017: 5 games
Eric Dickerson, Los Angeles Rams, 1983: 4 games
Curtis Martin, New England Patriots, 1995: 4 games

Why is this a great mark for Harris to reach? All four players above were elected NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year at the end of their first campaigns. Harris, Dickerson and Martin are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, while Kamara remains a fantastic player for the Saints who's on track to do so as well.

What are Najee Harris' odds to win OROY?

As of today, Harris has the third-biggest odds (+800) to win the award. He's behind Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (-138) and New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (+275).

For the season, Harris has 479 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. He also has 273 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. Those are great numbers for a rookie, and even though the Steelers' offense isn't one of the best in the league, certainly it's not Harris' fault.

About the author

Henrique Bulio is an NFL and College Football journalist at Sportskeeda and the Editor-in-Chief of Pro Football Brasil. He has a total 13 years of experience working in American Football, and playing quarterback at an amateur level in Brazil has given him a unique perspective of the game.

Henrique follows the Philadelphia Eagles closely due to Michael Vick's historic performance on MNF against the Washington Commanders in 2010. His all-time favorite player is Ed Reed; he believes that Reed is the greatest safety to ever play the game. Bill Belichick gets the nod as Henrique's favorite coach for coaching the Patriots to glory over two decades.

If Henrique were to be able to go back in time and watch one game, it would be Super Bowl XLIX, where the Patriots and the Seahawks played a complete, back-and-forth game that concluded with one of the biggest talking points in NFL history.

Technical deep dives are Henrique’s specialty, and he ensures never to use misleading words in his articles, since he himself consumes a lot of information off the web. He has had the privilege of interviewing Cairo Santos, Lamar Jackson, Jim Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Bruce Arians, Matt LaFleur, among others.

Aside from football, Henrique likes to play poker and Counter-Strike.

Know More

Steelers Fans! Check out the latest Pittsburgh Steelers Schedule and dive into the Steelers Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

Edited by Windy Goodloe