The Pittsburgh Steelers star running back was in Minnesota on Friday, a guest on numerous shows along Super Bowl media row. With most of the interviewers asking Le’Veon Bell the same questions about his contract and the Steelers playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, his responses were rather repetitive.

At least they were until he sat down with Tiki Barber and Brandon Tierney from CBS Sports Radio. When the conversation turned to the playoff defeat, Bell suggested it was not a lack of focus but a lack of energy that doomed Pittsburgh on the day.

“We didn’t play good, Jacksonville came out and they wanted it more than us. We didn’t start playing good football, for real, on offense, until the second half … For me, when I was out there playing, I had a sense they were playing with more energy … I get my first carry, they’re in the backfield and then getting up talking trash, they had more energy, you know what I’m saying.”

When asked why his team didn’t have that same energy, Bell’s answer was somewhat surprising.

“I did, but you can’t control everybody, you know what I’m saying. I did, I wanted that game badly.”

When pressed by Barber if he was saying that he was ready for the game but his teammates were not, Bell double down on his comments.

“Certain guys out there who was not ready to play football. Don’t get me wrong, guys woke up in the second half, but its like, it’s kinda too late.”

Attributing this lack of energy in part to the effects of the bye week, Bell appears to believe some of his teammates took Jacksonville too lightly.

“Guys got complacent, we had a bye week, we’re at home, we’re playing the Jaguars, it’s whatever. That’s how guys looked at it. I already knew the Jaguars were good, we played them earlier in the year.”

Considering his tweet the night before the game suggesting he was already looking forward to a rematch with the New England Patriots, it is interesting to note Bell is calling out other unnamed teammates for their complacency.

It is also hard to ignore how flat the team appeared and not give Bell’s words some credence. He was one of the better performers during the first half and a key reason why Pittsburgh was still in the game until the last few minutes. Effort and energy from Bell was not the issue in their loss.

You can hear the entire interview via the link below: