(Reuters) – The Pittsburgh Steelers were blessed to have two of the National Football League’s greatest ever running backs in Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis and on Sunday they celebrated the prowess of another as Le’Veon Bell set a franchise record for rushing yards in a postseason game. Competing in his first playoff game, running back Bell was almost unstoppable as he rushed 29 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns to help the Steelers crush the Miami Dolphins 30-12 in their American Football Conference wild card clash. Bell’s rushing yardage broke Harris’ team record of 158 yards in a postseason game, achieved during the 1974 season’s Super Bowl.
“He’s a man for all situations and circumstances, he does a lot of things well,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters about the rampaging Bell, who was a Pro Bowl selection in 2014 and 2016. Wide receiver Antonio Brown scored two touchdowns for the Steelers in the first quarter before Bell took over as he became the franchise’s 11th player ever to finish a playoff game with at least two rushing touchdowns. On Pittsburgh’s third drive, Bell set the tone for his record-breaking display as he powered and darted his way through Miami’s confused defense for 83 yards, carrying during all 10 times in a Steelers drive that ended with his 1-yard touchdown run. “The offensive line did an incredible job controlling the line of scrimmage today, and that made my job easy,” said the 24-year-old Bell. “Total team effort.”
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in St. Augustine, Florida; Editing by Andrew Both)
Reuters
