Running back Le'Veon Bell has been named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Steelers' 19-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bell carried the ball 32 times for a season-high 179 yards and a touchdown. He added three receptions for 12 yards, for a total of 191 yards from scrimmage.
"The offensive line did a great job of controlling those guys up front," said Bell. "We came in with a good game plan, we executed that game plan. They got me to the second level, allowed me to execute on the second level, make some plays on the second level. Other than that we came in expecting to run the ball and we stuck to that game plan and we got the win."
This was the fourth time Bell has rushed for over 150 yards in a regular season game. It is also the 16th time that he has rushed for 100 yards in his career, the fifth-most 100-yard games in Steelers history. Bell also broke a tie with Franco Harris for the most regular-season games with at least 150 yards from scrimmage in team history with 13.
"He was getting to the second level," said David DeCastro. "When you have a day like that and it's consistent, it was a lot of fun. That's how you kind of draw it up, I guess."
This is the third time Bell has won AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, previously winning it Week 14 in 2014 and Week 14 of 2016.
"It definitely makes the game easier when you are controlling the pace of the game," said Bell. "I think us controlling the run and getting the run early opened up some plays for some quick passes. Martavis (Bryant) catching some quick slants, JuJu (Smith-Schuster) and AB (Antonio Brown) doing what he does. It just makes the job easier for everybody else. I think even for Ben (Roethlisberger). I think we did a great job of controlling the pace of the clock. The offensive line did a great job of staying with it. Todd Haley, being consistent calling the run plays. I think it was a total team effort on offense."
