Damien Harris clocked his first multi-touchdown game in the NFL, but neither was his fastest run of the day. Actually, Harris's quickest, all-out sprint of the day started from the sideline.
After J.J. Taylor pushed over the goal line early in the fourth quarter for his first career touchdown, within seconds, Harris was by his side in the end zone to celebrate.
"It was probably the fastest I ran all game," Harris said.
On a day where the offense dominated, the running backs in particular set the tone. Five of the seven touchdowns the Patriots scored in their 54-13 win over the Jets were scored by running backs. Harris and Taylor both scored two, and Brandon Bolden rounded out the five.
Harris said with a group as close-knit as the running backs, it is incredible to see each other thrive. So when Taylor scored his first, Harris didn't hesitate to get in on the celebration.
"We're such a tight brotherhood in [the running back's room]. You see a young guy who works his butt off every single day, works just as hard, if not harder, than anybody else in the building, and you see him have that success and you know that hard work pay off," Harris said. "It's a great feeling and the excitement that I had just shows the camaraderie of this team. A lot of guys were excited. Everybody was excited. That's just a testament to how close we are as a team."
And not for nothing, Harris was excited to see Bolden make it into the end zone Sunday, as well. After a rough start to the season, Harris said having a leader like him in the locker room, especially after losing James White to injury, is huge.
"Brandon is something else, man," Harris said. "He's an all-time guy. His personality is next to none, but he's also another hard-working guy that has been in this league for a long time. He's played a lot of football. He's seen a lot of football. He knows how the game goes. Having Brandon has been so imperative to our group and our team as a whole because, obviously, with James being down and not having him, he's another guy that ... has more experience and has done this for a long time. We've all leaned on him and you know he's been an ultimate leader for us."
