The Pittsburgh Steelers' chances against the Baltimore Ravens in this weekend's wild-card playoff game took a hit with the news that running back Le'Veon Bell won't be available Saturday.
Bell injured his knee during the season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals, the final game in a year in which he totaled an AFC-leading 1,361 yards. During the third quarter, Bengals safety Reggie Nelson hit Bell in the knee, and Bell remained on the turf for several minutes before heading to the sideline and the locker room. He he did not practice this week, and on Friday the Steelers shut him down for the wild-card game. Bell has never played in a postseason game.
Earlier in the week, Bell sounded optimistic about playing. "My leg feels great," he said. "It feels good to be able to move around and not think about it much. I don't want to play fearing my knee getting hurt. It's not an injury like an MCL where you go out there and play and it gets worse ... Doctors have told me that's not what it is, that it's not something that can get worse if [I] do play, so that's a good thing to hear."
Bell's availability for the remainder of the playoffs, should Pittsburgh advance, remains uncertain.Bell's absence will force Pittsburgh to move away from its reliance on the run, unbalancing an offense that had helped the Steelers to 11 wins this season. The Steelers signed Ben Tate to emergency running back duty, but Tate is no Bell. Given the animosity between Pittsburgh and Baltimore, every edge is crucial, and Pittsburgh just lost one of its finest.
No comments:
Post a Comment