Steelers News: Mike Mitchell, Le’Veon Bell, Stephon Tuitt

Aug 26, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Mike Mitchell (23) celebrates a play in the second quarter against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 26, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Mike Mitchell (23) celebrates a play in the second quarter against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

The Steelers are in the driver’s seat in the AFC North fresh off of a road victory over the Bengals.

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While the team prepares to spend Christmas with the Ravens we’ll be busy looking for mentions of your Black & Gold so we’ve got you covered. Here’s your Steelers Morning Huddle for Tuesday, Dec. 20th.

Don’t blink

The Steelers couldn’t afford to drop one in Cincy with the Ravens right on their tails. As long as Pittsburgh wins out they win the AFC North with no help necessary. When they showed up in Cincy, however, they stalled out for the first two quarters. Thankfully, they didn’t blink.

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That’s the directive that safety Mike Mitchell says is given from their leader, coach Mike Tomlin. They took the Bengals’ best shot through the first half and after regrouping at halftime probably realized that it was only a matter of time before those numbnuts self-implode again and start committing fouls.

As if it were on cue the Bengals committed several personal foul penalties and Pittsburgh outscored them 15-0 in the second half. Mike Prisuta has Mitchell’s comments.

"“We follow the attitude of our leader (head coach Mike Tomlin). We do not blink. I think we probably handle adversity better than any team in the league and it showed.” – Mike Mitchell"

Breaking Bus’s records?

Le’Veon Bell accounted for 131 total yards from scrimmage in Sunday’s 24-20 win over the Bengals which puts him at 5,913 total yards from scrimmage since being drafted in 2013. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler informs us that total is the most by a Steeler over a player’s first four seasons.

The player Bell surpassed? Jerome Bettis, Pro Football Hall of Fame running back. He held the record of 5,804 yards from scrimmage in his first four seasons in Pittsburgh from 1996-1999. Just a reminder, Bell has missed 5 total games due to suspensions alone not to mention injuries. He could easily be over 6,000 yards from scrimmage by now.

Dodged a bullet

The team got out of Cincinnati relatively unscathed on Sunday but one injury was looming over the whole team. Defensive end Stephon Tuitt left the game early on with a knee injury. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler tweeted some encouraging news about Tuitt’s injury on Monday.

Next: Recapping the win over the Bengals

The defensive line is already as thin as a line consisting of large men can be with the defensive captain Cameron Heyward on IR with a torn pectoral muscle. Losing Tuitt as well could be a blow that is difficult to recover from.

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