FOXBORO, Mass. — It looked miserable out on the Gillette Stadium game field with temperatures in the low 50s and the wind whipping the rain around sideways like it was being blown out of an industrial fan.
Yet, New England Patriots running back Damien Harris was elated after his team upset the Baltimore Ravens in a 23-17 win on primetime television. The Patriots now are 4-5 and suddenly rolling with a chance at a .500 record next week against the Houston Texans.
“I’m kind of overcome with emotion right now,” Harris said. “I’m sorry if I’m a little too excited. I’m on Cloud 9 right now. That was a tough game in that kind of weather. Ever since I’ve been here, I’ve been hearing all of these stories about New England weather around November. I guess that was my first taste of it, and I loved every second of it. I’m just super happy right now.”
That’s understandable. Harris set a career-high with 121 rushing yards on 22 carries for his third 100-yard performance in six games this season. And that was all while playing through a chest injury that knocked him out of last week’s win over the New York Jets and left him questionable for Week 10.
“It was important to me to show that I’m going to do whatever it takes to come out here and help this team be successful,” Harris said. “This is a tough game, and unfortunately, the injury rate is 100 percent. I just want to show that if I have the ability to come out here and play and still play to the best of my ability and kind of live up to that tough and physical standard that our program has. I wanted to come out here and do it.
“Playing in this game was super important, especially because it was such a good game and such a good team that we were going to be playing. We knew that if we could come out here and just play the way that we knew that we were capable of playing that we would have a chance. So, I wanted to come out here and be a part of it, and I wanted to try to do my part to help this team win.”
Harris is, unquestionably, the Patriots’ best runner, though the team did rush for 173 yards on 39 carries Sunday night. There was a whole lot of head-scratching going on after New England spent a third-round pick on Harris last spring then didn’t use him as a rookie. Head-scratchers have turned into head-nodders six games into Harris’ second season.
And one thing that’s especially noticeable about Harris’ running style is his downright refusal to go down at times. He’ll push a pile. He’ll carry defenders. He’ll let the whistle be blown because of a lack of forward progress. But he will not go down.
Harris describes it as “running to score.”
“That mentality, I’ve always tried to play like that,” Harris said. “I’ve always tried to be a physical guy and run downhill and try to run through tackles. The team that I’m a part of and that physical mindset that is already kind of the precedent here and the standard, you’ve got to live up to that if you want to have the opportunity to help this team. I know that, and I understand that. Everything I do is for the benefit of this team.”
It would be downright unjust if Sony Michel regains his starting role once he returns off of injured reserve. Harris is running much too well to give up the bell-cow role.
