There are plenty of players on this Pittsburgh Steelers team but none may be more valuable than Le’Veon Bell.
Because of Bell, this Steelers team has been able to do things offensively that it hasn’t in years past, racking up 1,341 rushing yards on 282 carries, eight going for scores. He also is second on the team in receiving, hauling in 77 passes for 774 yards and three more touchdowns.
First of all, you’d have to go back to the 2010 season to find the Steelers last 1,000-yard rusher when Rashad Mendenhall ran for 1,273 yards and 13 touchdowns. Secondly, what the 6-foot-1 running back has done in the passing game has been unbelievable. In terms of running backs, Bell ranks second in the NFL in receiving yards, behind only Matt Forte who has 94 catches for 785 yards and four TDs. Forte, though, has yet to hit 1,000 yards rushing for the season. Before Bell, the last time the Steelers had a running back catch more than 40 passes was when Amos Zereoue caught 40 in 203.
Going beyond the surface of the numbers that most people judge, two numbers stand out: 4.8 and 10.1.
Bell is averaging 4.8 yards per carry and 10.1 yards per catch this season. He’s one of just six running backs with over 100 carries to average 4.8 yards per rush or better and just one of four running backs in the league with more than 20 catches who average at least 10 yards per catch.
Bell also has not fumbled this season and has accounted for 73 first downs for the Steelers — the second most in the entire league. He also has the third-most carries in the NFL, meaning that his team has been able to rely heavily on him this season.
Historically, Bell’s season could be compared to several running backs who have won the NFL’s MVP award.
The player that comes to mind the most is former St. Louis Ram Marshall Faulk, often referred to as one of the greatest pass-catching running back in the history of the NFL. When Faulk won the MVP award in 2000, he ran for 1,359 yards and 18 TDs while catching 81 passes for 830 yards and eight more TDs. A year before that, he ran for over 1,300 yards and caught passes for over 1,000 yards.
Bell’s ability to run the ball efficiently has opened passing lanes for Ben Roethlisberger to find receivers like Antonio Brown en route to both players have a career season and has hoisted Pittsburgh into the playoffs.
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