If Le’Veon Bell was hoping a mediocre offensive performance in Week 1 might convince the Pittsburgh Steelers to pay up for his services and end his holdout, he’s coming away sorely disappointed.
The Steelers jumped to a 21-7 lead on the Cleveland Browns in the third quarter of Sunday’s season opener, and the run game was a huge part of it. Even though Bell wasn’t on the field, backup James Conner was outstanding in his place, getting 90 yards on his first 11 carries and scoring two touchdowns. Add three catches for 32 yards and Conner was arguably Pittsburgh’s standout player.
James Conner adds a 22-yard touchdown run, and I'm thinking Le'Veon Bell may be checking Travelocity.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) September 9, 2018
In fact, Conner outperformed Bell’s 2017 performance against Cleveland.
Conner has more yards than Bell had Week 1 at Cleveland last year. More rushing, more receiving.
— Scott Kacsmar (@FO_ScottKacsmar) September 9, 2018
Others felt that Conner’s performance was proof that the Steelers’ offensive line was the real key to the run game and made both Bell and Conner look good.
I’m not saying Leveon Bell is being exposed but James Conner is running through wide open holes created by the offensive line, is averaging 6 yards a carry and has 80 total yards in the first half
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) September 9, 2018
One particular thing that many enjoyed? The Steelers’ offensive line, several members of which were openly critical of Bell during the week, seemed to be playing up their celebrations with each of Conner’s rushing touchdowns.
Pittsburgh’s o-line’s euphoric over the top reactions to James Conner TDs are high comedy.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) September 9, 2018
James Conner celebrating as hard as he can with the O-Line was a brilliant little troll to Lev Bell #Respect
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 9, 2018
A penny for Bell’s thoughts right now. Conner certainly looks the part, even if the quality of opponent has to be taken into account.
