–The Le’Veon Bell saga is finally over for the Steelers. Bell did not report by the 4 p.m. ET Tuesday deadline and is ineligible to play in the NFL this season.
Bell’s former teammates are glad they don’t have to be asked about him any longer. For the past 10 weeks, Bell’s status was a constant topic reporters broached.
“You know what the thing about it he is not here, he’s not going to be here, so we don’t talk about it,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “I texted him yesterday before the deadline saying I hope he is going to show up, and if he decided not to then I wish him the best. He was a great teammate here, a great football player. To each his own on what they want to walk away from.”
Now that Bell won’t play for the Steelers in 2018 the focus goes to James Conner and his backups. Conner is in the midst of a great season. He has 771 rushing yards, 387 receiving yards and has scored 11 touchdowns.
Conner also suffered a concussion in the game against the Panthers last week. He is expected to be cleared and to take part in the game against the Jaguars, but the injury does shine a light on the depth behind him.
Veteran Stevan Ridley and rookie fifth-round pick Jaylen Samuels are Conner’s backups. Ridley has 56 yards on 18 carries this season and Samuels has 26 yards on 10 carries.
“We have guys with NFL experience,” Roethlisberger said. “We have a young guy who is getting experience. We’ll get them more and more reps and we’ll do some stuff with five (receivers).”
Samuels has been getting more reps lately. All 10 of his rushing attempts and all three of his receptions have come in the past three games. He scored his first NFL touchdown against Carolina, a 6-yard catch from Roethlisberger.
“I like his arrow,” head coach Mike Tomlin said. “It’s been continually pointed up. We expect that from all rookies. He’s been a positive contributor to our efforts. It’s shown on (special) teams. It needs to continue to be shown on teams. And obviously in recent weeks when given an opportunity to touch the ball it’s shown some on offense as well.”
–The Steelers had trouble stopping the run last season. They were 27th in the NFL in yards per rush allowed (4.4), and the Jaguars contributed greatly to those struggles. They rushed for 231 yards during a regular-season game against the Steelers last year.
This year the Steelers have been much better against the run. They are allowing 4.1 yards per rush and rank 11th in the league in that category. Overall, they are allowing 105.8 rushing yards per game, which ranks 10th in the league.
“I just think it’s continually getting better every day and not only what we’re doing, but how and what it is individuals are doing fits within the bigger scheme of things,” head coach Mike Tomlin said. “I’ve said that repeatedly and I know it sounds cliche, but it all shapes up into being more consistent and more consistency allows you to have less breakout runs which brings your average down, increases opportunities for splash. I think we’re better in all areas, and I think that that’s what’s creating it.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 16 – Average number of points the Steelers have scored against the Jaguars in their past four regular-season meetings against the Jaguars. The Steelers have scored 9, 17, 17 and 21 points in those games. The Steelers have scored 30 points or more once in their previous 23 regular-season matchups against the Jaguars.
