Le’Veon Bell’s first season with the Jets isn’t exactly up to the All-Pro standard that he set for himself in Pittsburgh, but the running back feels like he’s playing at a similar level.
“I feel like I’ve been running hard, breaking a lot of tackles, and I haven’t dropped a ball all year,” Bell said Friday before the Jets traveled to Cincinnati. “I’ve been doing great in blitz pickups and pass protection. I haven’t been making a lot of mental mistakes and any time they call upon me, I make a play. This is some of the best football I’ve played in my whole career. I don’t care what the stats say.”
There’s a lot of evidence that would point to this season not being up to par with Bell’s career numbers. He has 557 yards rushing, which ranks 19th in the NFL. In his first 11 games in green and white, Bell is averaging a career-low 3.2 yards per carry and 50.6 yards per game on the ground. His longest run of the season is for only 19 yards.
While Bell has yet to rush for over 70 yards this season, the Jets are doing a good job of utilizing his versatility as a gifted weapon in the backfield. Although, his 33.5 receiving yards per game is nearly 14 yards less than he averaged his final two seasons in Pittsburgh.
Over the last four games, Bell has averaged 97.3 yards from scrimmage compared to 63 yards per game in Weeks 5-8. With the Jets turning a corner on their season, it’s no coincidence that Bell is playing some of his best football of the season.
In the last two games, Bell has been used increasingly in the slot. Bell lining up as a receiver hadn’t been a viable option for the Jets due to the consistent struggles of the offensive line and Adam Gase needing to deploy Bell at the line to chip edge rushers.
Last Sunday against the Raiders, Bell had five receptions for 59 yards, three yards shy of his one-game season high. Bell said he and Gase envisioned using him more out wide at the beginning of the season and he hopes his role will expand in the final five games.
“Now, we have more flow, so [Gase] is able to move me around a little more because he knows I have a better understanding of the offense and I’ve been putting good football on tape,” Bell said. “He’s been finding different ways to utilize me other than the running game, so hopefully we continue to grow with that.”
“Us moving around as many guys [on the offensive line], I think that didn’t make it easy on anybody,” Gase said. “Just trying to get some kind of rhythm, just trying to find different ways to use him. I think the last couple weeks, we’ve gotten him out, got him some space and got him the ball and let him go do his thing and I think that’s worked out well.”