After Pittsburgh defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 34-11 last week to break a three-game losing streak, Steelers running back Najee Harris said: “One game is good, but we got to win two more.”
Pittsburgh got half of that accomplished on Sunday by beating the Seattle Seahawks 30-23 as Harris ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries.
In his first 100-yard game of the season, Harris scored on a 9-yard run as Pittsburgh took a 17-14 lead with 1:36 left in the first half and a 4-yard run as the Steelers went up 24-17 with 6:57 left in the third quarter.
Harris probably would have scored a third touchdown, but he slid down at the Seattle 5-yard line at the end of a 12-yard run so Pittsburgh could kneel out the remaining 22 seconds.
The Steelers are coming off their top two scoring games of the season as they head to their regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 7 still in the playoff picture.
“It shows the progression we have shown, the grit that we have, the resiliency,” Harris said. “It just shows a lot about the offense. Like I said earlier, we had a lot of distractions this year, and for (quarterbacks coach/play-caller Mike Sullivan) and (interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner) to have a good game plan, execute it and the O-line coming through, that shows you that what type of team that we are.
“We’re doing a good job of knowing what we’re doing. If we just stick together like we did and really just believe and execute the game plan, I think things like this will show up. Really just a good job by the O-line, the receivers, Coach Sully and Coach Faulk just doing what they have to do and establishing the run, executing the game plan they provide.”
Even if the Steelers defeat the Ravens, Pittsburgh needs help to make the AFC playoff field. Pittsburgh needs a victory and either a Miami Dolphins’ win over the Buffalo Bills or a Tennessee Titans’ win over the Jacksonville Jaguars to get in.
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Harris was among the 45 former Alabama players who got on the field on the 17th Sunday of the NFL’s 104th season.
Three other former Alabama players were involved in the Pittsburgh-Seattle game:
· Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was designated as a game-day inactive. A knee injury kept Fitzpatrick out of the lineup for the second game in a row.
· Jarran Reed started at nose tackle for the Seahawks. Reed made five tackles.
· Levi Wallace started at cornerback for the Steelers. Wallace made one tackle.
In the other Sunday games:
Baltimore Ravens 56, Miami Dolphins 19
· Ravens cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (St. Paul’s Episcopal) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Lester Cotton (Central-Tuscaloosa) started at left guard for the Dolphins.
· Dolphins defensive tackle Raekwon Davis made four tackles.
· Dolphins defensive tackle Da’Shawn Hand made four tackles.
· Marlon Humphrey (Hoover) started at cornerback for the Ravens. Humphrey made one tackle before leaving the game with a calf injury.
· Tua Tagovailoa started at quarterback for the Dolphins. Tagovailoa completed 22-of-38 passes for 237 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions and ran for 14 yards on two carries. Tagovailoa threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cedrick Wilson for the game’s first points with 11:00 left in the first quarter and a 1-yard TD pass to running back De’Von Achane as Miami cut Baltimore’s lead to 35-19 with 13:47 left to play.
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· Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle was designated as a game-day inactive. An ankle injury kept Waddle out of the lineup.
Buffalo Bills 27, New England Patriots 21
· Christian Barmore started at defensive tackle for the Patriots. Barmore made six tackles.
· Bills running back Damien Harris is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Anfernee Jennings (Dadeville) started at linebacker for the Patriots. Jennings made five tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.
· Patriots quarterback Mac Jones dressed for the game but did not play.
· Bills wide receiver Tyrell Shavers is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Patriots linebacker Mack Wilson (Carver-Montgomery) made one tackle on defense, registered one quarterback hit and had one tackle on special teams.
Chicago Bears 37, Atlanta Falcons 17
· DeMarcco Hellams started at safety for the Falcons. Hellams made six tackles.
· Eddie Jackson started at safety for the Bears. Jackson made four tackles.
Houston Texans 26, Tennessee Titans 3
· Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. recorded two sacks and registered three quarterback hits. After missing the previous two games because of an ankle injury, Anderson returned to break the franchise rookie record for sacks by boosting his 2023 total to seven. Brooks Reed in 2011 and Whitney Mercilus in 2012 had six sacks apiece as rookies for Houston.
· Titans defensive back Shyheim Carter is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Christian Harris started at linebacker for the Texans. Harris made five tackles, recorded one tackle for loss and broke up two passes.
· Derrick Henry started at running back for the Titans. Henry ran for 42 yards on 12 carries. The output lifted Henry past 1,000 yards for the season, the fifth time in his career that he has reached the rushing milestone.
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· Texans safety Kareem Jackson made one tackle. Jackson played for Houston for the first time since a 21-7 playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 5, 2019. Jackson spent the intervening time with the Denver Broncos, who waived the defensive back on Tuesday. He joined the Texans as a waiver claim on Wednesday. Jackson originally came to Houston as a first-round choice in the 2010 NFL Draft.
· Texans wide receiver John Metchie III had an 8-yard reception and gained 4 yards on the first rushing attempt of his NFL career.
· Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o did not record any stats.
Indianapolis Colts 23, Las Vegas Raiders 20
· Colts cornerback Tony Brown is not eligible to play after being suspended by the team for the final three games of the regular season “for conduct detrimental to the team.”
· Raiders offensive lineman D.J. Fluker (Foley) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Ronnie Harrison started at linebacker for the Colts. Harrison made five tackles.
· Raiders running back Josh Jacobs was designated as a game-day inactive. A quadriceps injury kept Jacobs out of the lineup for the third game in a row.
· Ryan Kelly started at center for the Colts.
· Raiders defensive tackle Byron Young was designated as a game-day inactive.
Jacksonville Jaguars 26, Carolina Panthers 0
· Bradley Bozeman (Handley) started at center for the Panthers.
· Panthers guard Deonte Brown (Austin) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Panthers defensive tackle LaBryan Ray (James Clemens) did not record any stats.
· Calvin Ridley started at wide receiver for the Jaguars. Ridley had four receptions for 39 yards.
· Cam Robinson started at left offensive tackle for the Jaguars. Robinson returned after missing the previous four games on injured reserve with a knee injury. Robinson was ejected with 5:03 to play after he and Carolina defensive lineman Derrick Brown pulled each other’s helmets off.
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· Panthers wide receiver Cam Sims is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Bryce Young started at quarterback for the Panthers. Young completed 19-of-32 passes for 112 yards with no touchdowns and one interception and ran once for 2 yards. The interception came on Carolina’s final snap. Young was sacked six times, including on fourth-and-7 at the Jacksonville 21-yard line on the Panthers’ first possession of the game. Young seemed to be shaken up on the play but did miss any time. Carolina punted the next six times it had the football, then was stopped on downs twice in the fourth quarter, both times on incomplete passes.
Los Angeles Rams 26, New York Giants 25
· Rams tight end Miller Forristall is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Giants center J.C. Hassenauer is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Xavier McKinney started at free safety for the Giants. McKinney made six tackles and recorded one tackle for loss.
· Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson is on reserve/physically unable to play.
· A’Shawn Robinson started at defensive tackle for the Giants. Robinson made five tackles.
· Rams long snapper Carson Tinker handled the snaps on five punts and four extra-point attempts.
Arizona Cardinals 35, Philadelphia Eagles 31
· Landon Dickerson started at left guard for the Eagles.
· Jalen Hurts started at quarterback for the Eagles. Hurts completed 18-of-23 passes for 167 yards with three touchdowns and one interception and ran for 25 yards on eight carries. The interception came on the final snap of the game on a Hail Mary into the end zone from the Philadelphia 49-yard line.
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· Eagles cornerback Josh Jobe did not record any stats.
· Eagles wide receiver Julio Jones (Foley) caught two passes for 34 yards and two touchdowns. Jones scored on passes from quarterback Jalen Hurts of 12 yards with 36 seconds left in the first quarter and 22 yards with 16 seconds left in the first half. In boosting his career touchdown-reception total to 73 (including the playoffs), Jones had his 16th game with two (including two playoff games). Jones had his first two-touchdown game since he had eight receptions for 137 yards and two touchdowns in the Atlanta Falcons’ 40-23 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 18, 2020.
· Eagles cornerback Eli Ricks made three tackles and broke up one pass.
· DeVonta Smith started at wide receiver for the Eagles. Smith had three receptions for 30 yards before getting hurt late in the fourth quarter and leaving the game.
· Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen was designated as a game-day inactive.
San Francisco 49ers 27, Washington Commanders 10
· Jonathan Allen started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Allen made five tackles.
· Commanders running back Derrick Gore did not record any stats.
· Forty-Niners tight end Cameron Latu is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Commanders defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis made two tackles.
· Daron Payne (Shades Valley) started at defensive tackle for the Commanders. Payne recorded one tackle for loss.
· Brian Robinson Jr. (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa) started at running back for the Commanders. Robinson ran for 44 yards on nine carries and caught four passes for 32 yards as he returned after missing two games because of a hamstring injury.
Denver Broncos 16, Los Angeles Chargers 9
· Jerry Jeudy started at wide receiver for the Broncos. Jeudy had three receptions for 54 yards, including a 41-yarder.
· Broncos inside linebacker Drew Sanders made three tackles on defense, recorded one tackle for loss and had one tackle on special teams on a fake punt.
· Chargers punter JK Scott averaged 46.0 yards on four punts, with a 42.5-yard net. Scott had a 47-yard punt for a fair catch at the Denver 20-yard line, a 61-yarder returned 14 yards to the Denver 34, a 39-yarder downed at the Denver 10 and a 37-yarder for a fair catch at the Denver 15.
· Patrick Surtain II started at left cornerback for the Broncos. Surtain made four tackles and broke up one pass.
Kansas City Chiefs 25, Cincinnati Bengals 17
· Jordan Battle started at safety for the Bengals. Battle led Cincinnati with eight tackles.
· Bengals quarterback AJ McCarron (St. Paul’s Episcopal) dressed for the game but did not play.
· Bengals tight end Irv Smith Jr. dressed for the game but did not play.
· Jonah Williams started at right offensive tackle for the Bengals.
Green Bay Packers 33, Minnesota Vikings 10
· Packers running back Kenyan Drake is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.
Week 17 started on Thursday night, when the Cleveland Browns defeated the New York Jets 37-20, and continued on Saturday night, when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Detroit Lions 20-19.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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