While he was 164 pins off his weekly high, it was still a pretty good night for Le’Veon Bell.
And he wouldn’t mind rolling a few more frames like that.
The Jets running back got his most extensive work lately and put up his best numbers, with 21 carries for a season-high 87 yards in last night’s loss to the Ravens.
It came after he missed last week’s game with the flu (only to turn up at the bowling alley the night before to roll a 251), and marked the most carries he’s had in a game since Week Two.
“Rather than sprinkled around, when you get [the ball] in doses, it allows you to kind of feel a defense out and the O-line gets to feel themselves out,” Bell said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “You get in a rhythm with the O-line. That’s when special things start to happen. I think we got a little sense of that tonight and it felt good.”
Of course, the plan to feature Bell more seemed like a last resort as much as anything else, with six starters inactive because of injuries. There has been little evidence to date that coach Adam Gase was really interested in an expensive running back like former G.M. Mike Maccagnan gifted him with, and last week’s trip to the bowling alley might not have done much for the relationship.
But there’s no denying Bell is still capable of putting up big numbers, even if Gase didn’t trust him to put the ball in his hands on an early fourth-and-1. Sam Darnold threw incomplete to Robby Anderson instead.