ALLEN PARK -- Charles Harris hasn’t just shown flashes of the talent that made him a first-round pick four years ago. The Detroit Lions edge defender has continued his breakout season into the final three games, making his case as a potential piece to this puzzle.
Harris has a career-high 7.5 sacks, two forced fumbles with 58 tackles and 15 quarterback hits. He notched 1.5 sacks in Detroit’s 30-12 win against the Arizona Cardinals, adding a team-high 12 tackles while leading the defense to an impressive performance against quarterback Kyler Murray.
“But yeah, Charles has been a relentless player for us all season long,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “He’s a nuisance to quarterbacks, but he plays the run as well. He’s a well-rounded defensive end, outside linebacker, if you will. He really showed up and I’ll tell you what, to do what we had to do today, you have to be unselfish as a rusher. You have to be because if you’re all about yourself and going after this guy, that’s when he can make you look silly. He rolls out of the pocket, he breaks contain, and so those guys worked hand in hand.”
Pro Football Focus had Harris with five pressures against the Cardinals, ranking 16th overall among edge defenders in Week 15. His 47 pressures on the season are tops for the Lions, with Romeo Okwara’s 16 through four games sitting second. That number puts Harris 24th in the league among all defenders.
He signed a one-year deal in the offseason after spending one season with the Atlanta Falcons. Harris was Pick 22 to the Dolphins in 2017, notching only 3.5 sacks in three seasons with the team, so Year 1 in Detroit has been quite the ascent. Harris has three consecutive games with at least five pressures, putting Detroit’s pass rush on his back at times. Harris joined Lions legend Robert Porcher as the only players in team history to have 50 tackles, 7.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
“Man, just taking the coaching and just doing the details, doing the small things right,” Harris said. “Other guys around me just making it happen as well, everybody doing their job. Everybody is just being together out there. There’s a comradery within the team, within the defense, and it’s definitely paying off.
“Just blessed. Really that’s what it is. It’s just a testament to not giving up. Keeping my faith and just knowing that this is what I do. Just knowing that and taking advantage of the opportunities, no matter what. No matter how many plays it is. No matter -- I didn’t start off the season starting, you know? It’s just things like that. Just being the best possible player I can for the guy next to me. It’s day in and day out. Just make sure I’m doing my job for the guys next to me.”
Harris expressed interest in sticking around for the long-term plans in Detroit while saying the future isn’t up to him and that he’ll reflect on all this after the season. His tenure with the team started with a message to get after the quarterback from team owner Sheila Ford Hamp, with Harris saying it had a motivating effect on him: “It’s true It’s really, that’s my only job. That’s all you have to do. That’s all you have to do for us, or that’s all you have to do for me, in her words.”
“Really just keep doing it,” Harris said when asked about answering that call after the game. “That’s really what it is. I haven’t really taken the time to sit back and reflect. I will at the end of the season. Man, just day in and day out doing the little things and believing in myself and the guys around me. Just a testament to everybody. Everybody doing they job.”
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