Film Breakdown: Le'Veon Bell Turns in Huge Game for Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers' 30-27 win over the Cleveland Browns was filled with highs and lows. After jumping out to a huge lead in the first half, Pittsburgh let the Browns come all the way back to tie it up late. It wasn't until the closing seconds that the Steelers were able to put the Browns away with a late field goal.

A true high point of the Steelers offense was the play of second-year running back Le'Veon Bell. With 109 yards rushing and 88 more receiving, Bell had the best individual performance since Willie Parker racked up 236 yards of offense back in 2006 against the New Orleans Saints.

And beyond just the numbers, the performance Bell put in was spectacular. At first glance it really looked like the Steelers were going to use Bell all over the field. But when the game was on the line, you saw the Steelers going back to what they knew worked, and the Browns couldn't stop it.

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We'll get started with the first play of the game. The Steelers started this play with Bell set up in the backfield. However, he goes into motion and ends up split out at the top of the screen. In theory, this is done to create a mismatch for Bell in coverage. However, the Browns didn't take the bait, and cornerback Buster Skrine rolls over in man coverage on the running back.

You'd think that would have been enough for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to look the other way. He had wide receivers Markus Wheaton and Antonio Brown at the bottom of the screen, and Wheaton was getting a ton of cushion.

Instead, Bell runs a nice crossing route, gets inside of Skrine and it's an easy five-yard reception. Not a huge play, but you can't ask for much better than five yards on first down to open up the playbook.

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We now move ahead to 12:54 left in the first quarter and some really beautiful play design. Before the snap, Bell and running back Dri Archer are flanking Roethlisberger. At the snap, Archer goes out to feign a wheel route left, pulling the defense with him. Bell steps up like he's going to pass protect then releases for a screen pass.

Bell takes a short throw and turns it into a 23-yard gain. He displayed excellent vision in the open field and nice speed as he gets up the sideline. A tip of the hat to the Steelers offensive line on this play. As you can see, it did a really nice job getting out and setting up blocks for Bell.

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Now we move to a little later in the same drive, and the Steelers have another nice play call on first down. It is a simple counter but against a Browns defense who opted to stack the box wide. At the snap Bell takes a step inside then pops it left with excellent agility. A trend with Bell is whenever he has a lane right he is going to take it.

What makes this play so great is that it was run out of a package/formation that plays well for play-action passing.  

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I highlight the next play because it shows not only how Bell can work after the catch, but the confidence Roethlisberger has in him. Pittsburgh comes out with four wide receivers, using a bunch concept on one side and Antonio Brown on the other.

The goal of this is to either create a pick on the bunch side or single coverage against Brown on the other. However, credit the Browns for getting physical at the snap and eliminating the easy looks. Roethlisberger goes through his progressions and finds Bell just past the line of scrimmage.

Bell does a nice job pulling in the throw, and then he just turns on the jets. You can see Bell is lighter this season, and it is really paying off with his speed and acceleration. Thirty yards later he's forced down, but he's proved he has to be accounted for in the passing game.

The last play to look at is something we saw several times on Sunday. It's clear the Steelers are going to utilize the shotgun, and the delay/inside zone to make best use not only of Bell’s skills, but the skills of the offensive line.

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What the delay does is freezes the defense. This works because the Steelers are able to throw the football so well. When the ball is snapped and Bell takes that step up, the defense has to pause for a beat just to see what happens next. This gives Bell the opportunity to re-establish the line of scrimmage down the field and gives him a chance to survey his creases and make a play.

I would probably temper my enthusiasm if it wasn't for the fact that the Browns are a good defense. There was a long stretch in this game where the Browns defense stuffed the Steelers offense. This was as much about the shift in play-calling as it was execution, so things look very promising for Bell’s season.