Steelers run over Buffalo, 27-20

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. ­— As the Steelers prepared to take the field for the second half Sunday, leading by seven points on a cold, snowy day at New Era Field, coach Mike Tomlin had some motivational words for running back Le'Veon Bell.

“Coming out … he told 26 to carry us out of the stadium,” tackle Marcus Gilbert said.

Ever the good employee, Bell did exactly what his boss demanded.

Bell was a one-man show in the final 30 minutes en route to setting a Steelers' single-game rushing record with 236 yards in a 27-20 win over the Buffalo Bills.

At 8-5, the Steelers have a half-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.

Bell had 25 of his career-high 38 carries and 159 yards in the second half, taking the ball nine times on a 10-play touchdown drive that restored a 14-point advantage and helped the Steelers win their fourth game in a row and give coach Mike Tomlin his 100th career win.

“How about that, right?” Gilbert said. “That was incredible. He ran his tail off and, for that, he was rewarded.”

The list of Bell superlatives was so long it could fill a phonebook. Some highlights:

= He surpassed the single-game rushing mark previously held by Willie Parker, who rushed for 223 yards on Dec. 7, 2006 against Cleveland.

= He recorded his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game, the first Steelers player to do it since Parker over the 2006-07 seasons.

= He had 298 yards from scrimmage, adding four receptions for 62 yards. It's the most by a Steelers running back and second all-time in franchise history.

= In just his 10th game of the season, he surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the second time in his career. His total is 1,053.

= His 42 touches also set a Steelers record, surpassing Franco Harris' record by one.

“I looked up in the fourth quarter and saw I had 31 carries and I was, like, damn,” Bell said. “I don't really pay attention to it during the course of the game.”

To do it in such adverse conditions was especially gratifying to Bell.

“It's something that never bothered me or fazed me,” Bell said of playing in the snow. “When I got out there, I know there's a lot of people thinking, ‘Oh, it's snowing or it's cold.' That's what embraces me, makes me ready for the game because I know there a lot of people out there who don't want to play in the snow.”

The temperature was 27 degrees with an 18-degree wind chill at the start of the game. Despite the blustery conditions, the Steelers had Ben Roethlisberger attempt 26 passes in the first half, while handing the ball to Bell 13 times for 77 yards.

Roethlisberger completed just 14 of his first-half attempts and was intercepted twice, one leading to a touchdown that cut the Steelers' lead to 14-7.

“We wanted to come out throwing and spread it out,” said Roethlisberger, who threw a third interception in the second half and finished with 220 yards, no touchdowns and a 37.9 passer rating.

When the Steelers got the ball in the second half, they changed their modus operandi. On 82-yard yard drive, Bell accounted for 72 yards and Roethlisberger threw just one pass. It also coincided with the Steelers deploying Chris Hubbard as an extra lineman and using fullback Roosevelt Nix to open holes for Bell.

The drive ended with Bell going around the left side and almost walking into the end zone for a 5-yard score and 21-7 lead.

“The run game was working,” Roethlisberger said. “I don't think was ever any, ‘Listen, this is what we're going to do.' We just started rolling. When you're running the ball and it's going well, you might as well stick with it.”

On the next drive, Bell had runs of 10 and 33 yards, but Roethlisberger was intercepted in the end zone. The Steelers got the ball back on the next play thanks to an Artie Burns interception.

Bell ran six times for 29 yards, setting up Chris Boswell's 37-yard field goal for a 24-7 lead with 10:02 remaining.

At that point, Bell was at 225 yards.

“When you're up a couple of scores and keep running the ball and they can't stop it, you wonder what the records are,” Gilbert said. “When he bypassed that Steelers record, I was asking guys about the NFL record.”

Adrian Peterson's mark of 296 yards was safe. But Bell kept winding the clock with six more carries and a 14-yard reception that set up another Boswell field goal and 27-13 lead with 3:43 left to play.

Bell also helped keep the Steelers defense, which sacked Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor five times, on the sidelines. The offense controlled the clock for 38 minutes, 41 seconds.

“It's like heaven,” defensive end Stephon Tuitt said. “I love food, so it's like having a buffet of food when you see Le'Veon running on the field, getting first downs, and me resting.”

Bell has touched the ball an average of 35 times during the winning streak and shows no signs of slowing down.

“That guy is young,” center Maurkice Pouncey said. “He's got a lot of juice left.”

Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.