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The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a lopsided loss to the Philadelphia Eagles during Week 15. But at one point in the third quarter, the Steelers had an opportunity to tie the score with a touchdown.
On the pivotal second half possession, the Steelers drove to the Philadelphia 26-yard line. Then, running back Najee Harris fumbled a pitch from quarterback Russell Wilson, which the Eagles recovered.
Philadelphia responded with a touchdown, and because of the ball-control Eagles offense, the Steelers touched the ball only one other time after Harris’ fumble.
The FOX Sports broadcast showed that Wilson was doing a lot of communicating at the line of scrimmage before the play where Harris lost the pitch. But Wilson told reporters after the game that he wasn’t trying to audible.
“No, that was the play we had going on,” Wilson said to a question on whether he changed the play. “It just, unfortunately, didn’t work out.”
The Eagles outgained the Steelers 401-163. So, Philadelphia badly outplayed Pittsburgh throughout Week 15.
But Harris still picked a bad time to fumble for the first time this season. The turnover proved to be a turning point in the Steelers 27-13 loss in Philadelphia.
Steelers’ Najee Harris Explains What Happened on Key Fumble
The Steelers veteran running back provided a few more details but overall, also offered a simple explanation on what led to his fumble.
“Yeah, I took my eyes off of it,” Harris told reporters. “I took my eyes off of it. I was looking at the hole rather than securing the football and fumbled it.”
The Steelers still won the turnover margin 2-1 in Week 15. However, Pittsburgh scored only 3 points off two fumbles in the first quarter. In fact, the Steelers recovered fumbles on back-to-back Eagles possessions to gain 57 yards of field position, and yet they still settled for a field goal.
Philadelphia scored a touchdown off the Harris giveaway.
The fumble was a huge mistake. But Harris couldn’t get the Steelers ground game going either. He gained just 14 yards on 6 carries. The Steelers rushed for 56 yards with quarterbacks Wilson and Justin Fields combining for 21 of those yards.
Before Week 15, the Steelers had only one other game where they didn’t eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark. That was Week 5 versus the Dallas Cowboys when they gained 92 yards on the ground.
Harris’ 19 yards was also his fewest in a game this season.
Russell Wilson Critical of Steelers Performance vs. Eagles
Wilson didn’t call out his running back for his fumble. But he was critical of how his team played overall.
“They played way better than us tonight. It’s unacceptable how we played. I think we feel like we have to be sharper,” Wilson told reporters. “So we just have to stay the course and know that, obviously, we have a big week coming up. We’ve got to respond.”
The Steelers have another road matchup upcoming against the Baltimore Ravens. With a win, the Steelers can clinch the AFC North and guarantee a home playoff game.
In Week 11, Pittsburgh defeated Baltimore 18-16. The Steelers didn’t score a touchdown in that contest.
That’s not likely to happen again, though, and to beat the Ravens, Najee Harris and the rest of the Steelers will have to avoid costly turnovers.
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Steelers’ Russell Wilson Speaks Out on Najee Harris Fumble vs. Eagles