The Steelers have been done playing football for a few weeks now, but they aren’t done revisiting reasons for their ouster in a divisional round loss to the Jaguars.
Running back Le’Veon Bell was a guest on CBS Sports Radio this week and shared some of his thoughts about why the team wound up on the wrong side of a 45-42 final score. Bell said he “had a sense” that the Jaguars had more energy than the Steelers, who fell behind 21-0 before trying to make a game of it in the second half.
“I did [have energy], but you can’t control everybody,” Bell said. “I did. I wanted that game badly. Certain guys out there was not ready to play football. I mean, don’t get me wrong, guys woke up in the second half, but it’s kind of too late.”
Bell’s comments play into the idea that the Steelers were looking past the Jaguars, something that Bell appeared to be doing before the game with both tweets and actions. The running back said he felt some players may have been “complacent” after earning a bye in the first round, but added that he doesn’t think head coach Mike Tomlin is to blame because players should be able to get themselves ready to go.