Play of the Game: Harris breaks loose
The Steelers were commemorating their 1,000th game, so Franco Harris' name came up often.
Arlen Harris' name came up all day.
In his first career start, Arlen Harris carried the ball 34 times, a number Franco Harris exceeded only once in his 13-year NFL career.
Arlen Harris finished with 81 yards and three touchdowns Sunday in the St. Louis Rams' 33-21 victory over the Steelers.
Harris' average per carry - 2.4 yards - wasn't anything to brag about, but he kept the clock moving (the Rams controlled the ball for 40 minutes) and broke loose for a couple of critical runs.
None was bigger than his 9-yard score late in the third quarter.
It put the Rams ahead to stay, 26-21, and snapped a red-zone funk that had seen them settle for field goals on their previous two drives, after moving all the way to the Steelers' 4- and 2-yard lines.
"It makes you so upset, because you're sitting on the sideline and adding those four points twice and saying, what could the score be?" quarterback Marc Bulger said. "That's the NFL. You sit there and worry about what it could have been and should have been - and (teams that do that) are the teams that lose."
This time, on 2nd-and-6 from the 9, the Rams ran a play called "30 Tom," an off-tackle left. Harris' first job was to read the movements of Steelers' nose tackle Casey Hampton.
"Their nose guard is very aggressive," Harris said. "When I saw him jump to the right, I cut behind him, and the rest of the line did a great job getting their guys out of the way."
Right tackle Kyle Turley loves "30 Tom" because he gets to pull. He helped open a clear lane for Harris, who was barely touched.
"I think it was 31 (safety Mike Logan) who filled the gap," said Turley, who might have mistaken Logan for cornerback Dewayne Washington. "That's the first person I saw. I just blasted the guy, and (Harris) pretty much walked into the end zone."
It's amazing that Harris, younger brother of former Penn State running back Aaron Harris, is even playing in the NFL after a washed-out college career at Virginia.
He didn't even play football last season, because he was ineligible after transferring to Hofstra.
Born in Chester, Pa., the 5-foot-10, 212-pound Harris was a star running back at Downingtown High School. The Rams signed him as a free agent, and he was forced into the lineup after injuries to Marshall Falk and Lamar Gordon.
Last week against Green Bay, Harris was pressed into duty and gained 85 yards on 18 carries.
"We knew he was a good back," said Steelers linebacker James Farrior.
Harris still can't believe all this has happened so fast. His brother and parents were in the stands at Heinz Field.
"All this stuff seems like a dream," Harris said. "I just thank the Lord for the opportunity."
