Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris passed away Wednesday at age 72.
Harris, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1972-83 and then with the Seattle Seahawks in 1984, was a four-time Super Bowl champion, nine-time Pro Bowler, and was the MVP in Super Bowl IX, the Steelers’ first ever world championship.
At 6-2, 230 pounds, Harris was difficult to bring down, but his quickness also made him difficult to catch.
The following is a list of teams that had trouble stopping Harris in his career. All data comes from Pro Football Reference, and four career games — regular season only — is the minimum qualifier.
5. New York Jets
Harris tallied an 80.7 rushing yards per game against the Jets through six career games, all of them victories. His best game against New York was on Oct. 21, 1973 when he rushed 25 times for 102 yards and a touchdown.
4. Cleveland Browns
To appreciate Harris’ 83.8 rushing yards per game average through 23 career games against Cleveland, here are his totals against other AFC Central foes:
Cincinnati — 22 games, 68.0 yards per game
Houston — 22 games, 68.0 yards per game
Eight of Harris’ 47 games with 100 yards or more rushing came against the Browns, the highest of his career. Harris also scored the most rushing touchdowns against Cleveland with 17.
The best game for Harris against the Browns was Oct. 7, 1979 when he rushed 19 times for 153 yards — an 8.05 yards per carry — and two touchdowns. Harris was 18-5 against the Browns.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
Harris saw the Chiefs eight times and produced a 91.0 rushing yards average. His most prolific game was Nov. 12, 1972 when he rushed 17 times for 134 yards and a touchdown in a 16-7 win. Harris was 7-1 against the Chiefs.
2. Miami Dolphins
Harris only saw the Dolphins four times in the regular season in his career, but posted a 92.3 rushing yards average. Harris went 2-2 against the Dolphins in the regular season with a 1-1 ledger in the postseason.
1. Dallas Cowboys
Harris was 3-1 against the Cowboys and his career, and he averaged a perfect 100.0 rushing yards per game. His best outing was on Nov. 20, 1979 when he carried 29 times for 179 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-13 win. The game was also Harris’ single-game best for rushing yards. The only game — regular season or otherwise — wherein Harris struggled against the Cowboys was his rookie season when he carried three times for 16 yards.
In Super Bowls X and XIII, the Cowboys held Harris to 3.4 yards per carry or worse, but the Steelers kept giving Harris the ball as he had at least 20 carries in each Big Game.
Honorable mention: Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings were able to limit Harris to 69.8 rushing yards per game in their five regular season matchups, but they had no answers in Super Bowl IX.
Harris rushed 34 times for 158 yards and a touchdown as he collected the game’s MVP honors en route to Pittsburgh’s first of four Super Bowl victories in the 1970s. To date, Harris is the only Steelers running back to win the award.
