It wasn’t officially scored a touchdown, but New England Patriots rookie receiver N’Keal Harry said his catch-and-run in the red zone against the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday instilled confidence.
It took him back to his days running over defensive backs at Arizona State.
“It kind of felt like some of the stuff I did in college,” Harry told reporters inside the locker room at Gillette Stadium on Friday. “Just getting the ball in my hands and being able to run with it, that definitely helped just seeing that I’m able to still do the same thing.”
On the play, the officials incorrectly ruled Harry’s left foot was out of bounds at the Chiefs 3 yard line. He had his second career touchdown taken away from him. And the Patriots certainly could have used it in the 23-16 loss. On that same drive in the fourth quarter, the Patriots marched backwards following one run, one incompletion and a third-down sack. They settled for a field goal.
The drive was yet another example of the Patriots’ red zone troubles. New England has scored touchdowns on just 48 percent (25-for-52) of their red zone trips, which puts them among the bottom five teams in the NFL in the category.
Earlier this week, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said he needs to do a better job getting Harry involved. He talked about what it would take for the Patriots to be better in the red area as well.
“(It’s) really just execution,” Harry said. “It comes down to doing our job and doing our job well. And not just one person, not just 10 people, all 11 of us on the field. That’s what it’s going to take.”
It’s not going to be easy down there either. The Cincinnati defense is second in the league in red zone efficiency as they have allowed just 19 touchdowns on 43 red zone trips.
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