ATLANTA–The football gods are smiling upon the Atlanta Falcons today.
How so? Well, with tailback Le'Veon Bell's surprise announcement of a Week 7 return (three-month contract dispute), coinciding with the Pittsburgh Steelers' bye week, it now guarantees two things:
a) Atlanta won't have to worry about preparing for Bell this week, in what represents a must-have game for the Falcons (1-3) and Steelers (1-2-1).
b) Health permitting, the Panthers and Saints will both encounter the Bell-infused Steelers later in the season, namely Weeks 10 and 16.
In other words, if the Falcons harbor serious hopes of busting out of this quarter-pole funk and bidding for the NFC South title, they'll likely need help from outside sources–such as the high-powered and streaky Steelers.
Bell, the NFL's highest-paid running back (roughly $900,000 per game), holds absurd averages of 1,684 total yards and 8.5 touchdowns over the previous four seasons (2014-17).
What makes these numbers so special? Charting the Steelers' last 52 regular-season outings, Bell has suited up only 33 times.
