Cincinnati Bengals: 3 Reasons for loss vs. Steelers in Week 7
By Kenn Korb
1. Answering the bell
After slow start on season for the Steelers offense, they finally figured out what will make them their most dangerous selves in 2017: letting Le’Veon Bell have the ball as often as possible. It sounds simple, but moving their offensive focus from Roethlisberger to Bell has resulted in a seismic shift for the team’s production and success.
In two of the three games before this one, Pittsburgh gave him 32+ carries. The team won those two contests (vs Baltimore and Kansas City) pretty handily, while getting blown out in the outing where they didn’t (vs Jacksonville).
This week, he was rightfully given a ton of opportunities yet again — and he did not disappoint. Check the stats: 35 carries for 134 yards, plus three catches for 58 yards. This wasn’t an effort buoyed by a couple huge yardage plays on the ground either. His longest rush (15 yards) was one of three 10+ yardage attempts, and he picked up at least five yards on 11 of his carries.
Bell’s involvement was somehow even deeper than that too. On four different drives, he was the runner or receiver for 6+ plays. On four drives, he accumulated at least 21 yards himself. Most importantly, those four previously mentioned drives all resulted in scores: one touchdown and three field goals. In total, 16 of Pittsburgh’s 29 points on the day came from the drives which were fueled by Bell.
Cincinnati proved unable to stop him from making consistent gains and keeping the chains moving often for his team; with that being the case, it is no wonder the Bengals were hard-pressed to get back into the game in the second half.
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Even in a season where Pittsburgh’s offense essentially began in denial about who the focal point should be, they managed to find the right answer well before midseason and still have themselves in prime position for an eventual high playoff seed too. Cincinnati meanwhile will continue to struggle with determining the obvious answer of who their best running back is (Mixon) until their season is long dead.