LE’VEON BELL WOULDN’T HAVE SAVED THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS, BEN ROETHLISBERGER WOULD’VE

With or without Le’Veon Bell, the Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t beating the Cleveland Browns. But if Ben Roethlisberger showed up, they would’ve.

How much more do you want from your running back than James Conner put on the field? 135 yards, two touchdowns and 60 receiving yards. You can’t argue that Le’Veon Bell is one of the best backs in the NFL, but you can argue he wasn’t beating that performance.

Conner looked confident and explosive. He took his first NFL start and put everything on the field. Win, loss or tie, he remains the Steelers’ starter for the time being.

Whether Le’Veon Bell tweets or not, he wouldn’t have won Pittsburgh the game. If anything, you’d have to expect a slow start after missing training camp, which could’ve put the Steelers in an even worse position.

The one player who could’ve saved the Pittsburgh Steelers was Ben Roethlisberger. While the NFL world wanted to jump right to the “Ben is washed” takes, they’re wrong. Even at 36-years-old, Roethlisberger still has enough in the tank to win, and win a lot.

Roethlisberger has a history of underperforming on the road. Against un-pleasurable weather conditions and a revamped Browns defense, the last thing Big Ben needed was poor decision making.

Three sacks and a fumble would’ve removed any chances of winning, against any team outside the Browns. Luckily, they were playing Cleveland, and despite offseason movement, they’re still the Browns.

You can’t blame everything on Ben. He was pressured on nearly every drop back, late in the game. One of his interceptions went right through the hands of Jesse James, and the other was miscommunication with Antonio Brown.

Never finding a rhythm can be put on no one but himself. Throughout the game, James Conner was the only productivity keeping Pittsburgh ahead. And the entire time, fans waited for the moment Roethlisberger would begin to connect on three or four passes in a row. Find Antonio Brown down the sideline. Even look for Jesse James in the middle.

It never happened.

There was never a rhythm. Never did Roethlisberger begin to connect three and four passes in a row, driving Pittsburgh down the field. Instead, he would find one receiver, then miss Justin Hunter from behind, or throw into triple coverage in the redzone.

None of this is a concern until next week. Until this becomes a weekly problem, Roethlisberger is excused. Even when they tie the Browns, it’s not time to jump ship and bench a future Hall of Famer.

It’s Week 1. Ben hasn’t played more than three series in seven months. Chances are you begin to build some rust when you’re 36-years-old.

He could’ve saved the Steelers, yes. But James Conner proved he’s a stud. Meaning all this offense needs to wait on now, is for their quarterback to click.