Why the Pittsburgh Steelers Must Lean on Le'Veon Bell to Make Playoffs

The playoffs are within reach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they have a prime-time performer who can help carry them there in Le’Veon Bell.

Each time the Steelers needed a game-changing moment, they have turned to Bell.

At a pivotal point of the season in Week 7, the Steelers trailed the Houston Texans at home by a score of 13-0. With the ball at their own 14-yard line, the Steelers faced a crucial 3rd-and-10. Rather than look for Antonio Brown or Heath Miller, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger found Bell over the middle of the field. Bell broke free from the linebacker and took the short completion for a gain of 43 yards.

Though the Steelers didn’t score a touchdown on this drive, Bell’s big play did help set up a field goal and change the momentum of the game. The win was the first of three in a row at home.

While he did it through the air against the Texans, it was his legs that helped defeat the Tennessee Titans in Week 11.

Down by 11 points late in the third quarter, head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Todd Haley easily could have abandoned the run and attacked Tennessee’s defense through the air. But that wasn’t in the cards. Instead, they went with a heavy dose of Bell, and he delivered with a career high in rushing yards.

Bell finished the game with 204 yards on 33 carries, but it was his dominance over the final 19 minutes that stole the show. He carried the ball 16 times for 121 yards and a touchdown to not only help the Steelers take the lead, but also close out the game.

These types of performances are why the Steelers must lean on their star running back to carry them to the playoffs.

Utilizing Bell became much easier after the Steelers released LeGarrette Blount on November 18. That leaves only Dri Archer and Josh Harris as the backups. Nothing against either running back, but in the most competitive division in football, the Steelers need to rely on their best players, not inexperienced rookies.

Getting a bulk of the carries will be nothing new for Bell. Already with 195 carries and 57 receptions, he has easily been the most active running back on the roster. However, his heavy involvement with the offense could pay a price.

Credit: Graph created by Chris Gazze (stats via ESPN.com)

With so many touches, fatigue could be a concern as the season progresses. Running backs take a pounding, and the wear and tear can take a toll over the course of 16 games. Bell doesn’t buy into that.

He told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (subscription required) that he is not worried about the extra workload: “I don’t really feel pressure. This is what I trained for. I didn’t feel fatigued in the game or tired. As long as I continue to work and train as I’ve been, I’ll be fine.”

Bell trained very hard over the offseason. As I watched him at training camp, I came away impressed with his speed, athleticism and overall fitness level. His work has helped transform him into one of the most productive running backs in the league and one who can thrive in a single-back system.

For much of the year, Bell did not have to worry about producing on his own with LeGarrette Blount as his top backup. However, things took a drastic change over recent weeks.

Over the last two games, the Steelers have moved away from a two-back attack and focused on using Bell as the lone back. During this time he had 54 touches—his highest two-week total of the season. Running backs coach James Saxon isn’t worried about the increased number of carries, per Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

“He is not a small person. That helps,” Saxon said. “I don't think you worry about putting too much on his plate. Obviously, he has to take care of his body. He has to be available now to answer the call.”

Bell has answered every call that the Steelers have made this season. He is second in the NFL with 951 rushing yards and yards from scrimmage with 1,435. More importantly, he has been more active in wins than losses.

In the Steelers' seven wins, Bell has an average of 24.3 touches for 149.3 yards per game. By comparison, he only has 20.5 touches for 97.5 yards in losses. What can we learn from this? When Tomlin and Haley get the ball in Bell’s hands, the Steelers generally win games.

	Wins	Losses
Games	7	4
Carries	136	59
Rushing Yards	711	240
Average Yards Per Carry	5.7	4.1
Rushing Touchdowns	2	0
Receptions	34	23
Receiving Yards	334	150
Average Yards Per Reception	9.8	6.5
Receiving Touchdowns	2	0

Bell will see no shortage of carries over the final five weeks of the season. The Steelers do not face a rush defense ranked higher than 23rd in the league. With 123.8 rush yards allowed per game, the New Orleans Saints are the best rush defense remaining on Pittsburgh's schedule.

Each team also allows at least 4.1 yards per carry. That should bode well for Bell, who averages 4.9 yards per carry and has seven games with an average of at least 4.6 yards per carry. 

	Yards Allowed Per Game	NFL Rank	Yards Per Carry Allowed
New Orleans Saints	123.8	23	4.6
Atlanta Falcons	125.8	24	4.1
Kansas City Chiefs	129.4	26	5.0
Cincinnati Bengals (2 games)	129.6	27	4.3

The lack of top rush defenses on the schedule is particularly important as December approaches and the weather gets bad. Four of Pittsburgh's remaining five games are in outdoor, northern climates—including three at Heinz Field. That means a heavy dose of physical football is on the way.

When the weather gets poor, there is no better approach than an aggressive ground attack, and Bell believes that he is up for the challenge, via Bouchette:

"

I’ve been training this whole offseason, enough where if I don’t have to come out of the game, I’ll still be energized, I can finish the fourth quarter, I don’t feel fatigued or tired. I’ll continue to work at that in practice.

"

Teammate Ike Taylor believes that Bell is the perfect fit for December football.

Bell may not evoke memories of Jerome Bettis running over Brian Urlacher in the snow, but he doesn’t need to. His ability as a runner, receiver and blocker has made him one of the most dangerous running backs in the league and the perfect back for Pittsburgh’s offense.

Pittsburgh will only go as far as Bell can carry it, and from what we’ve seen, he can carry it pretty far.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all stats are courtesy of ESPN.com, and all roster information is courtesy of Steelers.com.  

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