Written by Ray Fittipaldo at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.com
Le’Veon Bell will set the franchise record for most rushing yards in a postseason if he gains more than 6 yards in the AFC championship Sunday against the New England Patriots. If he runs for 125 yards he’ll move into the top five all time for rushing yards in an NFL postseason.
Bell, who hadn’t played in a playoff game before this season, has 337 yards through two games after tearing through the 30th- and 26th-ranked run defenses in the Dolphins and the Chiefs. If the Steelers are going to get to Super Bowl LI, Bell and the Steelers offensive line will have to plow through the Patriots and their third-ranked run defense.
Three months ago, when the Patriots visited Heinz Field, they held Bell to 81 yards on 21 carries.
“They play real well up front,” Bell said Wednesday. “They pride themselves on stopping the run. I think it was a circumstance of us not getting enough totes, too. Last time we played them we weren’t as aggressive running the ball as we are now. It should be an interesting game going against those guys again.”
Right tackle Marcus Gilbert isn’t putting much stock in the first game against the Patriots. He said the Steelers are a completely different offense for the rematch.
“That was so early on in the year,” Gilbert said. “We were still growing. Le’Veon started finding his rhythm. This is a completely different group — new demeanor, new goal, new everything. We have a new approach about ourselves. It’s the playoffs now. I don’t expect to see the same.”
This isn’t the first time this season the Steelers will face a top-five run defense. They faced the Patriots, Ravens and Cowboys in consecutive weeks in the regular season. The Ravens finished the season fifth and the Cowboys first against the run.
Bell had 32 yards on 14 carries against the Ravens in Baltimore and 57 yards on 15 carries against the Cowboys. All of those games happened before the Steelers made a strong commitment to the running game.
During the current nine-game winning streak, which started the week after the loss to the Cowboys, Bell has rushed for nearly 1,200 yards in his past eight games. When the Steelers played the Ravens in a rematch Christmas Day for the division title, Bell had 122 yards on 20 carries.
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