Dud No. 2 – Chris Harris Jr.
It’s hard to pick on Chris Harris Jr. after the rough outing he had against Pittsburgh in Week 15. But that’s exactly what Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin did again in the Divisional Playoff on Sunday against the second-team All-Pro cornerback who is clearly hobbled by injury right now.
Harris has been one of the top cornerbacks in the league for several years running, but on Sunday it was clear that his left shoulder injury is not only limiting him in coverage, it’s also severely affecting his tackling ability.
Denver played much more zone coverage against the Steelers this week as compared to their Week 15 loss, and also giving up more yardage in man coverage situations, but Harris could not close the gaps as quickly as we’re used to seeing him do and he let receivers slip past him in multiple tackling situations.
For only the second time all season and the third time in three years, Harris registered a negative grade from Pro Football Focus. Harris needs to get healthy and fast or he could be a liability against the Patriots’ receiving corps.
