Baltimore Ravens

Can The Ravens Shut Down Le'Veon Bell Again?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:32 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Joe Schiller/FanSided via Ebony Bird

The Baltimore Ravens are going to have their hands full on Sunday with Le’Veon Bell.

The showdown for the AFC North is just one day away and boy is it going to be a good one.

The Ravens and  Steelers are facing off for the second and final time this season. The birds were able to win the first meeting, but that doesn’t mean anything now.

The Steelers are a very good football team. Baltimore’s defense is going to have their hands full with the Steelers offense. Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown are not the only threats, because they have a running back named Le’Veon Bell.

When Bell is healthy and stays out of trouble, he is one of the best running backs in the league. His ability to wait behind the offensive line and find holes is as impressive as it comes. Bell is also a dual threat running back. He can not only hurt teams on the ground, but in the passing game as well. Ben Roethlisberger is not afraid to check down to him him in pressure situations.

Against the Bills 2 weeks ago, Bell went off. He had a whopping 238 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. He ran all over a solid Bills defense and they had no answer for him. Even when Big Ben has a bad day, Bell is able to pick up the slack.

Must rebound from last week

The question will be is which Ravens defense is going to show up on Sunday?

If the Ravens play against the run like they did last week then there are going to be some problems. It looked like someone had taken the Ravens front seven and replaced them with a high school team. They were not able to get any pressure in the backfield.

Running back Ryan Matthews powered his way for 128 yards and 1 touchdown. The Eagles high tempo offense gave the Ravens front seven some problems. Defensive lineman Brandon Williams and Timmy Jernigan grasped for air as Matthews ran the ball right down their throats.

Defense is capable

In their last meeting, the Ravens completely shut down the All-pro running back. The defense held him to just 32 rushing yards on 14 carries. Bell was constantly stopped at the line of scrimmage and never had momentum moving forward.

I think the Ravens can absolutely shut down Le’Veon Bell on Sunday. They have played solid against the run all of this season. The 82.1 yards allowed per game on the ground is the second best in the league. The defense is battle tested and know how to stop running backs.  Bell is not the only good back that the Ravens defense has been able to limit. Ezekiel Elliot and Jay Ajayi both had their struggles. Since these two teams always play twice a year, the Ravens are familiar with Bell. They know what he is capable of.

The Ravens will need to tackle to groups if they want to have success against Bell. He is elusive and knows how to make defenders miss. I know that defensive coordinator Dean Pees will have his defense ready. If the front seven can get to him early, they can take away his confidence and slow him down.

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Timmy Jernigan