FOXBOROUGH – He toted the football 25 times, took a pounding all day long in the stuffy, 82-degree heat, and just kept driving.
And now, we will find out just how tough New England Patriots running back Damien Harris really is.
The third-year man out of Alabama committed an absolute atrocity in football’s Belichick Bible, coughing up the rock deep in the red zone in the fourth quarter with the Patriots marching into a lead-assuming score.
All-Pro corner Xavien Howard taught the kid a lesson on ball security, stripping it clean from Harris' arms and denying the Patriots the lead and potential victory in Week 1 of the Mac Jones’ Era. Instead, it was a gnawing 17-16 defeat.
“Every game, I feel like I need to make something happen for the team and get the ball to the offense. My mindset was get the ball out, we needed it and it was crucial. So I made it happen,” said Howard.
Give Harris, who was straight cash to that point with 22 carries for 98 hard yards and a pair of catches for 17 more, credit. He strode to the postgame podium and fessed up to the Patriots-sinking crime.
“It was a tough play, obviously I have to do a better job of holding on to the ball, especially in a critical situation like that,” said Harris.
“At the end of the day, we lost the game. That’s what’s more important to me, that’s what matters most to this team.”
The kid said all the right things. Honestly, that matters little.
What does ... won’t be decided until he climbs back up on that proverbial bicycle with the same reckless abandon he did as he inflicted some harm on the Dolphins.
“I’m ready to move on. It’s a tough play,” said Harris. “It’s part of the game, but I hold myself accountable. I’ll continue to do that.”
To the point of the fumble, at the Miami 9 with 3:31 left, Harris delivered exactly what New England had hoped for all August long.
He was decisive and offensive-minded every time the rookie Jones stuck the ball in his gut or tossed it to him on the way to the edge. Miami played up in the box with eight defenders in New England’s two-tight end sets and seven against the spread looks. Harris gashed both, including a 35-yard tone-setter on the opening possession of the game.
Today, as Harris himself said and Jones confirmed, none of the good really matters if the other team grabs the win.
“We lost, so it’s not good enough,” said Jones, summing up the day. “Damien's obviously very disappointed, but it doesn't go all on Damien. There's a lot of things I could have done to be better, to not even be in that situation.”
There doesn’t seem to be an option 2 … yet. Sony Michel is a Ram. JJ Taylor was inactive for the opener. And rookie Rhamondre Stevenson took the express lane to Belichick’s doghouse with his own lost fumble on career carry No. 1. When Harris, who set a career-high for touches (his previous was 22), needed a second-half blow, it was journeyman Brandon Bolden getting the call. Harris missed six games to injury last year. The physical toll of this extensive workload needs to be monitored.
But for now, it’s all about Harris’ emotional recuperative powers.
“(Harris) played his heart out. It is what it is. He's going to be better from it,” said Jones. “He's a great dude, and he's going to work hard, and that's what he does, and that's what we're all going to do.”
How do he and this football team, on the heels of New England’s first losing season since 2002, respond to a giant late blunder and a loss?
“It’s a long season, I’m not going to let this mistake define me. So, I’m just ready to move forward,” said Harris.
New England football fans are counting on it.