With the second quarter of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2015 season now in the books, it’s time again for us to hand out some awards for the last four games and we’ll start things off with the offensive side of the football.
Offensive MVP – Le’Veon Bell – While some might argue that this award should go to Antonio Brown, I’m going to go with Le’Veon Bell. Prior to him being lost for the remainder of the season this past Sunday, Bell had carried the football 72 times for 365 yards and a touchdown in the last four games. He also chipped in another 45 yards on 10 catches during that span of games and was really the Steelers most consistent offensive weapon during the second quarter of the season. It’s sad to see his season end so prematurely and hopefully he will recover quickly from his injury and pick up next season right where he left off at this year.
Offensive MVP Honorable Mentions –Marcus Gilbert – Right tackle Marcus Gilbert has played incredibly well all season and I think he deserves recognition for it again in this second set of quarterly awards. While he was flagged a total of three times in the Steelers last four games, Gilbert has pass protected very well.
Biggest Disappointment – Markus Wheaton – After catching a long touchdown pass in the Week 5 game against the San Diego Chargers, wide receiver Markus Wheaton has been pretty much invisible in the Steelers offense. In fact, the third-year wide receiver has caught only 4 passes for 29 yards in the Steelers last three games. After catching 53 passes for 644 yards last season, Wheaton is on pace to catch 26 balls this season for 514 yards. That’s certainly disappointing.
Biggest Improvement – Landry Jones – While Landry Jones didn’t put up eye-popping stats in his first career start in the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, he did play very well in relief of Mike Vick in the Week 6 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Being as he has now likely permanently earned the No. 2 quarterback job behind starter Ben Roethlisberger moving forward, I truly believe that he should be a slam dunk for this second quarter award.
Surprising Stat – Roosevelt Nix – After only playing 23 snaps in the Steelers first four games of the season, fullback Roosevelt Nix has played 37 snaps in the last four games. When he has been on the field so far this season, the Steelers have rushed for 6.38 yards per carry as opposed to 4.93 when he’s been out of the game. Nix has been everything the Steelers could hope for in a seldom-used fullback who also contributes on special teams.
If you missed the first quarter of the season offensive awards, you can read them right here.
