I’m proud to announce to Steelers Nation that Le’Veon Bell is back! He has finally finished his personal “preseason” following the first three games of the season where he failed to record a 100-yard rushing game.

In what was a vintage game for Bell against the Ravens last week, in Baltimore no less, Bell scorched the Ravens for 144-yards, and a two-touchdown effort.

Now, he and the rest of the Steelers head back home were Bell looks ready to roll. The Steelers will host the Jacksonville Jaguars and the league’s worst run defense at Heinz Field on Sunday; that’s why Le’Veon Bell against the Jags defense is my matchup of the week.

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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had this to say regarding the team’s win at Baltimore:

Our defense got stops, our offense was able to maintain possession of the ball because we took care of the ball, and that allowed us to continually snap it and produce the run total.

That’s why the Steelers will need that same kind of production this Sunday as they face a Jaguars team that has an unpredictable quarterback in Blake Bortles.

It appears Ben Roethlisberger has had his own struggles in the passing game. We have seen Ben, who is almost always on target with his throws, have a few get away too high or too far out of reach for his receivers.

With the top two passing defenses going head-to-head, this is where the matchup of Bell and the Jaguars defense comes into play.

There is a reason why he is a Pro Bowl running back.

Jaguars coach Doug Marrone was quoted as saying just that about Le’Veon in his pregame press conference.

And he is correct.

Even with the Jags victory over the Ravens in London, Jacksonville was burned for 256 yards on the ground… by two running backs that do not have the pedigree of Bell.

It also appears that the Steelers offensive line, which opens those holes for Bell in a big way with his patient style of running, will have all of their starters back this weekend to assist in the process. Marcus Gilbert has been nursing a hamstring injury and Ramon Foster hurt his thumb a couple of weeks ago. Both appear to be on track to start, which should give a boost to the Steelers rushing game.

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The Jaguars will also try and get in on the running game with their own back, rookie Leonard Fournette. However, with a healthy T.J. Watt back in the lineup, the Steelers shouldn’t have the same edge issues they had against the Bears without him.

I could see this game being very run-heavy, with Bell getting 90% of the snaps and Tomlin running backup James Conner in there to give Bell a breather every now and then; or as an extra blocker. We also know that the Steelers like Terrell Watson in short-yardage situations, though I wouldn’t expect more than a carry or two from the bruising runner.

One more piece to the Bell matchup is his ability to contribute the passing game. He is an all-around back, who claimed this offseason he wanted to be paid like a WR2: that’s because he has been one of the leading receivers on the Steelers since being drafted back in 2013.

So when Bell is in the game, the Jaguars will have to attempt to plan for his entire skill set. That is hard to do when you also have Antonio Brown lurking in the shadows for the ball. That could open up the passing game for Big Ben and company, but with the Jaguars dead-last in the NFL against the run, don’t expect too much of a dramatic shift from last week’s ground-and-pound attack.

Prediction: Steelers 35-7 over Jacksonville. (On a side note, I do believe the Steelers defense, who are ranked 2nd in the league in sacks, will get at least three this game and a defensive TD!)