The Pittsburgh Steelers' running game has looked very good, and, well, very bad so far this year. In Week 11's game against the Tennessee Titans, Le'Veon Bell had a career high of 204 yards thanks to his offensive lineman, his own self, and Todd Haley's play calling. Bell ran the ball 33 times that game, compared to 21 times in the previous two games combined. When given a chance, Bell performs like the great running back that he has the potential to be.
Todd Haley will play a big role in the outcome of this week's Steelers-Saints matchup. At different points this year, Haley's play calling has been questionable, and downright bad at some points. The main flaw was that Haley would often shy away from running the ball. To be fair, Big Ben Roethlisberger did have an insane two-game stretch. However, establishing a strong running is a very important aspect of the game, and Bell and company proved that in Week 11.
Pittsburgh should also try to run the ball against New Orleans because, the Saints haven't exactly been stopping the run very well as of late. They've allowed 545 rushing yards in their last three games, or 182 yards per game. Becuase of that, Haley and Mike Tomlin should absolutely try to run the ball right down the throat of New Orleans' defense. All it will take is some good blocking and good play calls, and the Steelers should have no problem riding Bell to a victory over the Saints and improve to 8-4.