FOXBORO Damian Harris is starting where he left off. But this time, it wasn’t enough.
Harris, after three weeks leading the Patriots to a big win in Buffalo as he struggled with a hamstring injury late on, came back looking like he didn’t miss a win in Sunday’s game. The fullback’s three run-down drop kept Butts afloat before he eventually lost his grip on East Asia with a 33-21 loss to the Bills. But Harris looked strong and healthy, which is good news for the Bates, who need him during the final two weeks of the regular season.
“I just felt lucky to be back out there with the team,” Harris said. “Everything we’ve done this year, starting with the OTAs, the bootcamp, the long season grind, we’re going into Week 17. Just getting a chance to step back into the field with these guys, I felt wow. Obviously the outcome wasn’t what we wanted, but just the ability to Getting back there, it feels great and I’m looking forward to coming back here… Get ready to get back to work and prepare for the next week.”
It was Monday night three weeks ago when the Butts turned to Harris and his running game as the focal point of their offensive game plan in horrific weather in Buffalo. The third-year back was delivered with 10 buggies for 111 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown that proved to be the difference in their 14-10 win.
Sunday, Harris continued to answer the call. Missing Rhamondre Stevenson, who is on the COVID-19/standby roster, Harris was just the Patriots’ only reliable offensive option.
In a fourth and 1 major at the start of the second quarter, he earned a 12 in fantasy play design to prepare his run for 16 yards, tying the game. Then, with a two-point reduction in the second half, Harris lit up the Bates with another two points. The first came at a yard off after 31-yard crooks pushed them down the field, and the second at eight yards from the Bills defense where he wouldn’t simply come down until he crossed the goal line. They both made it one match.
But he needed more help. The Bates had been chasing Josh Allen and Beals all afternoon, and Harris couldn’t do much until after they were late for most of the game. The defense couldn’t stop Allen, and Mac Jones and the passing offense couldn’t keep up.
“We knew it was a dog fight,” Harris said. “At the end of the day, our job when attacking is to score more points than the other team. That’s what we wanted to do. … Every time we step onto the pitch, our job as a foul is to go in there and score points. We’ve done that quite a bit today, But we didn’t do it enough. We have to find a way we can keep improving in this area. Like I said, extend your drive, have more positive plays, score more points, finish in the red, and stop hurting ourselves in critical situations because In the end, that’s what it’s up to.”
The good news for the Patriots is that the running game seems to be in a good place, especially with the return of Harris. But the rest of them haven’t looked the same since before the farewell week and that’s a concern as they head to bigger games in January.
“We just have to get back to work,” Harris said. “Win, lose or draw, you have to come the next day ready to go back to work. Unfortunately the last two weeks haven’t gone the way we wanted it to, but it won’t be the end of our season. We will be (Mon), ready to go, ready to improve and we have another tough game next week.” This match is over, we will review it, we go to the corrections, we take over the training and after that, we move on to the next match.”
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