Le’Veon Bell has run wild on defenses in two playoff games this postseason. The Patriots have for the most part limited star running backs -- Bell included -- this season. Something has to give in Sunday’s AFC Championship.
In games in which Bell has racked up at least 93 yards or had 22 carries, the Steelers are 9-0. To call those magic numbers, of course, is baloney. With better clock management from Andy Reid, Sunday’s 18-16 Steelers win could have been a loss in which Bell still ran for 170 yards.
At any rate, the red-hot Bell presents arguably the biggest challenge of the season for a Patriots run defense that has not allowed a 100-yard rushing performance to any running back this season. In fact, they haven’t allowed a 90-yard game. David Johnson (89 yards) racked up the most yardage against them in Week 1, with Bell (81 yards on 21 carries in Week 7) serving as one of the other four to get at least 80 yards.
Bell doesn’t set his sights on 80-yard games, though. He went off for 167 yards and two touchdowns in the Wild Card round against the Dolphins, then had the aforementioned 170 against Kansas City. He achieved those gaudy stats with a high number of carries (29 vs. Miami, 30 vs. Kansas City) and big plays. It’s the latter that could be a determining factor in which team goes to Houston.
Thus far in the postseason, Bell has had seven runs of 10 yards or more, the longest of which went for 38 yards Sunday in Kansas City. The Patriots allowed just one 10-yard run to Lamar Miller last week, a 17-yard third-quarter scamper. Dating back to Week 12, they’ve allowed only five 10-yard runs to running backs in seven games.
On the season, only two running backs have had multiple runs of 10 or more yards in a game against the Patriots. Carlos Hyde had three (13 yards, 12 and 11, though he fumbled on the 11-yard run) and Mike Gillislee had two (28 and 16 yards). When the the Pats and Steelers met in Week 7, Bell’s longest run (and only one of at least 10 yards) was 12 yards.
Overall, the Patriots’ run defense boasts strong numbers that can immediately be questioned by the fact that they’ve led at halftime in all but three games this season. Their opponent is usually trying to come back, so of course the Pats ranked top-three in rushing yards against (88.6 per game in the regular season).
New England Patriots
Still, the Pats still ranked high in the regular season in yards against per carry (3.9; eighth). In Week 7 against the Pats, Bell had 3.1 yards per carry, his second-lowest average of the season. His 21 carries from that game remain the most he’s had in a loss this season.
An obvious way to keep those numbers down for the Patriots is to establish a lead early and build on it, forcing the Steelers to go Brown-or-bust. If the Patriots hit an offensive rut like they did in the second quarter in the divisional round against the Texans, they could open the door to see more of Bell than most teams prefer.