The general consensus was that James Conner could be an adequate, serviceable running back until Le’Veon Bell ended his holdout and got back in uniform for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was unthinkable that Conner would do as well as he’s done.
After all, Conner did little to distinguish himself last season in his rookie year, which ended early with him suffering a torn MCL. That was on top of a torn ACL and cancer diagnosis in his junior year at the University of Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Bell was one of the best running backs in the NFL, with a combination of speed and power that hadn’t been seen for quite some time.
But here we are almost midway through the season and indeed Conner is playing better than Bell did last year.
James Conner Proving That the Pittsburgh Steelers Should Move on From Le’Veon Bell
Statistics Tell the Story
If you can’t believe your eyes, look at these numbers, which show clearly that Conner is giving the Steelers more this year than Bell did last year.
– Conner is in the first running back in the 86-year history of the Steelers with three consecutive games of at least 100 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
– His 22-yard touchdown Sunday against the Browns was his seventh run of 20 or more yards, four more than Bell had all of last year. Bell had five catches for over 20 yards last year. Conner already has three this year.
– Conner is averaging 4.7 yards per carry and 10.4 yards per catch. Last year, Bell averaged four yards per carry and 7.4 yards per catch.
– Conner has nine touchdowns. Bell had nine touchdowns all of last year.
Conner Doing Great Work in the Red Zone
But it’s Conner’s work in the red zone that is really showing how much better he’s been than Bell. Inside the 20, Conner has scored seven touchdowns on 21 runs. Inside the 10-yard line, Conner has scored six touchdowns on 16 runs. Last year, Bell had nine touchdowns inside the 20 on 61 carries. Inside the 10, he had eight touchdowns on 27 carries.
Conner’s statistics are even more remarkable considering that he’s scored six touchdowns in the last three games. That certainly seems like Conner has an excellent chance of blowing all of Bell’s statistics out of the water.
All of Conner’s work in the red zone has led to some positive results for the Steelers. Last year, the Steelers scored touchdowns on only 55 percent of their trips to the red zone. That had them ranked 18th in red zone touchdown percentage. This year, the Steelers are scoring on 75 percent of their red zone visits, good enough for second in the NFL, behind only the Cincinnati Bengals, who are scoring at 76.9 percent rate inside the red zone. Following the Steelers are the Seattle Seahawks (73.6 percent), Baltimore Ravens, (72 percent) and New England Patriots (65 percent).
Overall, the Steelers are averaging 29.1 points per game, which is the fifth highest mark in the league. Last year, the Steelers averaged 25.4 points per game, which was the eighth highest in the NFL.
What to Do If Bell Returns?
So, what should the Steelers do if Bell returns at some point? He certainly could be helpful in the event that Conner gets injured. It’s possible that Conner’s head-on running style, which the fans love, could sideline him down the road.
Bell could also be used as a super sub, perhaps in third-down passing situations. It’s worth noting that Bell has much more of a track record than Conner, and we’ll have to see if Conner can keep up his torrid pace.
But it’s clear that at least for now, Conner deserves to be the Steelers featured running back no matter if Bell returns or not. Thus far, he’s done the unthinkable by outplaying the legendary Bell.
