Former Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell was known for his patient running style, and it led to three Pro Bowl appearances during his tenure in Pittsburgh. Current Steelers LB Elandon Roberts started his career with the New England Patriots in 2016, and Roberts said on the Breakin’ House Rules podcast that Bell is the toughest running back he has faced.
“‘Cause his vision, his patience in the hole, which was really like unique in a way in how he’s seeing the game,” Roberts said. “I been saying that from my New England days, I’ve been saying it from the Miami days, Le’Veon Bell is the most difficult back I went against because the style of run he had.”
Bell’s patience made it so he usually found an open hole, and with a head of steam he was hard to bring down. The question Roberts was asked was about the hardest running back to tackle, and he expanded with praise for not just Bell as someone who was hard to bring down but also his running style. That running style was something CB Beanie Bishop Jr. joked he emulated on an interception return against the Jets in Week 7.
Against Roberts’ Patriots, Bell ran 21 times for 81 yards and had 10 catches for 68 yards in 2016. He also ran six times for 20 yards in the 2016 AFC Championship Game before exiting with an injury. In 2017, Bell ran 24 times for 117 yards and added five receptions for 48 yards, so he had a lot of success against Roberts in his career.
Bell was one of the best running backs of his era, and it’s a shame things ended the way they did with him in Pittsburgh, the former second-round pick sitting out the 2018 season before getting a big contract with the New York Jets. He never recaptured the ability he showed with the Steelers, and he was out of the league after the 2021 season.
Not many running backs give Roberts problems as he is a sound and consistent tackler who’s been a downhill thumper for the Steelers. But with Bell’s patience and vision, he was someone who posed problems for Roberts early in his career. Roberts was far from the only defensive player who had issues with Bell, and the Steelers haven’t had a running back as talented as him since although Najee Harris is on pace for his fourth-straight 1,000-yard season. But Bell’s style is hard to replicate, and it’s rare that we’ll see another running back succeed in playing the way he did.
