Franco Harris. Jerome Bettis. Bill Dudley. John Henry Johnson. John McNally.
All those names above are Pittsburgh Steelers halfbacks/running backs that are in the Hall of Fame.
None of them had as good of a game on the ground as former Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell did in 2016 on the road in the snow against the Buffalo Bills.
On Dec. 11 in the midst of a push for the playoffs, Bell came up large for the Black and Gold. He turned in the single-greatest rising performance in Steelers history, racking up 236 yards on the ground in the snow against the Bills in Orchard Park, leading Pittsburgh to a 27-20 win. Not only was it the highest rushing performance in Steelers history, it was also the most rushing yards the Bills had ever allowed in a game and was the quintessential game in Bell’s career with the Steelers as he had nearly 300 yards of total offense in the win.
Early on, Bell showed it was going to be a special day with the football in his hands, though his first two touches came on receptions. Bell’s second reception of the game went for 32 yards and showed Bell was at another level that even the Steelers weren’t used to seeing.
The patience, the vision, the ability to bounce this play back outside for an explosive play.
It was all on display for Bell and a sign of things to come against an overmatched Bills defense in the snow.
Bell had his snow tires on that day.
Though that first drive ended in a Ben Roethlisberger interception, the Steelers really couldn’t be stopped on the day. On the second drive of the afternoon, Roethlisberger hooked up with wide receiver Antonio Brown for a 40-yard pass down the right sideline. A few plays later, Bell finished the drive in impressive fashion, driving his way into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown, giving Pittsburgh an early 7-0 lead.
Ironically, color commentator Phil Simms said right before the snap that the Steelers were going to have to throw on the play due to Buffalo loading up at the line of scrimmage. Bell had other ideas.
Though Bell ended up having a monster day on the ground, Pittsburgh wasn’t running the ball much early as Roethlisberger carved up Buffalo’s defense.
Roethlisberger found tight end Ladarius Green for 7 yards, tight end David Johnson for 15 yards and Brown for 9 yards on the next Pittsburgh drive, eventually setting up Bell for his second rushing touchdown of the day, this one from 9 yards out.
That touchdown run there sparked the Steelers on the ground. Pittsburgh was dominant at the point of attack, and it imposed its will on Buffalo after that.
Holding a 14-0 lead, this one was all but over due to the work Bell did after the two-score lead was established.
Bell ripped off chunk play after chunk play, running right and left behind an offensive line that truly dominated from start to finish.
He was deadly in the open field, too.
Pittsburgh largely ran the same play over and over and over again.
The Bills had no answer.
Gaping holes all over the place from Pittsburgh’s offensive line, thanks to guys like Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, B.J. Finney, Jesse James and fullback Roosevelt Nix. It was as punishing a performance anyone has ever seen from the Steelers.
Opening up the third quarter, Pittsburgh marched right down the field on an 11-play, 61-yard touchdown drive. Bell carried the rock 10 times, rushing for 46 yards and capping the drive with the easiest 5-yard touchdown he ever had in a Steelers uniform.
Look at DeCastro and Nix out front clearing a lane. What a thing of beauty.
Up 21-7, the Steelers just hammered away at the Buffalo front seven.
Bell had a 33-yard run right up the gut later in the third quarter for good measure, and then added a 14-yard run in the fourth quarter. Though Pittsburgh struggled to finish off drives as Roethlisberger threw three interceptions on the day, Bell capped his historic day in style. He ran over Buffalo safety James Ihedigbo at the end of a 14-yard catch and run directed by Roethlisberger on a backyard play, helping Bell finish with 298 yards of total offense.
Pittsburgh went on to win the game, 27-20, and kept its playoff hopes alive. The Steelers went on to win the AFC North later that season on an Antonio Brown touchdown with just seconds remaining on Christmas.
The story of that day in mid-December was Bell though. He finished with 236 rushing yards and three touchdowns on an astounding 38 carries and added four receptions for 62 yards, finishing the day with a combined 298 total yards and three scores on 42 total touches.
In poor conditions and on a day in which Roethlisberger struggled to take care of the football, Bell came through in a big way, entering the Steelers’ record book.
