Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell appears focused on just one opponent this season: The New England Patriots.
Bell and the Steelers square off against the Patriots this week in what is one of the most highly anticipated games of the year, with both teams fighting for the AFC's top seed.
Last season, Bell suffered a groin injury during the AFC Championship Game and believes the result could've been different had he stayed in the contest. The Patriots won 36-17 and went on to capture their second Super Bowl in three years.
"I just felt like I missed (an) opportunity to get to a Super Bowl," Bell said Wednesday via ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. "When this year came around, we saw the schedules and everything, I knew had another opportunity if I was being healthy and playing the Pats again. It's good. The opportunity is here."
Bell has rushed for a league-high 1,105 yards and seven touchdowns on 283 attempts, adding 75 receptions for 579 yards and two touchdowns.
With the Steelers and Patriots once again emerging as the class of the AFC, Bell is looking ahead to their impending showdown and believes the teams are evenly matched.
"This is the game everyone has been waiting to see," Bell said. "It's the No. 1 and 2 teams in the AFC going at it head to head. This is obviously a game that a lot of people, even before the season started, probably circled on their calendars. I'll definitely embrace the game. The Patriots are the team that's always in the hunt for the Super Bowl ... I think it will be more so of whoever executes better. They have players who can make plays. We have players who can make plays. It depends on who makes the plays and when they make them."
In a game that features two leading MVP candidates in Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, along with Bell being bent on revenge, Sunday's game could be an instant classic.
