After stalemate, Steelers RB Najee Harris unaware NFL game could end in tie

There seems to be one every year.

Every NFL season, a game ends in a tie, and usually at least one player between the two teams tells reporters after the contest that they didn’t know an NFL game could end without a winner.

This year, that player is Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris.

The Steelers and the Lions tied 16-16 after 70 minutes of football Sunday, including the 10 scoreless minutes of overtime. Harris was confused when the clock struck zero in overtime and the game ended. He was ready for another 10 minutes.

“I didn’t even know you could tie in the NFL,” Harris said. “In my mind, I was sitting on the bench saying, ’I’ve got another quarter to go.’ But someone came to me and said, ’That’s it.’ I’ve never had a tie in my life before.”

In this case, though, Harris wasn’t the only player on the field who didn’t know the rule. Lions backup running back Godwin Igwebuike said he was asking teammates on the sidelines how many overtimes there can be.

“It’s nuts,” Igwebuike said about the rule.

While stories like this come out almost every season, the most famous example is from 2008 when Philadelphia quarterback Donavan McNabb said he wasn’t aware of the rule after the Eagles and Bengals tied. McNabb was ridiculed at the time for not knowing the rule.

While Harris and Igwebuike — two young players — weren’t aware of the rule, veteran players like Pittsburgh defensive lineman Cam Heyward knew what the Steelers faced as the overtime clock ticked down.

Heyward also succinctly articulated the majority opinion about the rule: “Ties suck.”