It’s been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. However, if you’re Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, there’s little that’s flattering about Bengals running back Joe Mixon.
The AFC North division has a bunch of well-known rivalries: Steelers/Bengals, Steelers/Ravens, Bengals/Ravens and Browns/Wins. So animosity among players on rival teams isn’t been necessarily a new thing, especially in this division. However, it was the rookie Mixon who ignited this beef between himself and Bell.
In fairness to the Bengals rookie, all he was trying to do was lobby for more carries through the media last week after the loss to the Steelers.
Via Katherine Terrell of ESPN:
“Me personally, I feel like I can do way more than [Bell] did. Like I said, I only had seven carries. I can’t showcase nothing if I don’t get the ball. There’s nothing else I can say,” Mixon said. “It’s frustrating. I feel like I’m seeing [Bell] got the ball 35 times, and I got it seven in the first half and then don’t touch the ball again,” Mixon said. “[Jeremy] Hill only got one touch in the second half. It’s frustrating to us running backs. We feel like we’re in the room and we feel like we’re part of the offense. If it worked in the first half, why not do it in the second?”
for someone who feels they can do “way more” than I can, sure seems like u wanna be me! tryin to mimic my run style, my 1st down celebration
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) October 29, 2017
now u wear an arm sleeve on your left arm AND went to the mismatch gloves too?! lol just change your number from 28 to 26 while your at it..
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) October 29, 2017
then obviously I’m not tlkin about him.. https://t.co/9Jy9rqjKME
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) October 29, 2017
Clearly those remarks affected the Steelers All-Pro running back as he took to Twitter during his bye week to address them. The Steelers subtweeted Mixon noting that the Bengals rookie managed to dress the same way he does on game day, even noting that he’s expecting him to change his number to 26 like Bell has.
For the Steelers, it’s been a season of drama with the anthem protests involving Alejandro Villanueva and the rumors of whether or not Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger will retire at the end of the season. Currently, the Steelers lead the AFC North with a 5-2 record.
As for the Bengals, they’re currently third place in the division after beating the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Mixon finished the game with 109 yards from scrimmage.
