Rex Ryan’s Bills were facing the Steelers in a late-season game in 2016. Ryan decided his game plan would be to take away Pittsburgh’s passing game. He knew Le’Veon Bell would gain some yards against his defense. He never counted on how many.

“He beat me to sleep,” the former Jets coach said Wednesday. “He was a one-man wrecking crew. He kicked our ass from the first play of the game to the last. Does he make a difference? Oh my God, does he make a difference. I would have killed to have somebody like this.”

Bell ran for 236 yards and three touchdowns against Ryan’s Bills that day in a 27-20 win for the Steelers. He also caught four passes for 62 yards. It was that memory that came back to Ryan when asked about just what the Jets have in their new star running back.

“He’s going to be great. The guy’s a phenomenal player,” Ryan said. “Paying a running back … whatever. You’re paying a great football player. How do you make a young quarterback better? You build a running game around him. He’s going to get eight-man spacing, which is easier to throw against. It’s a great move. I think Jets fans have to be excited about this one.”

Ryan was not the only one throwing bouquets in the Jets’ direction on Wednesday. Their decision to sign Bell to a four-year, $52.5 million deal was widely praised by people around the NFL.

After Bell sat out the 2018 season, there was some question about what Bell would get in free agency. Some argued against paying a running back big bucks when cheaper alternatives can be available at the position.

The Jets were committed to not overpaying Bell or letting him use them to drive up the price. They felt they made him a strong offer. After linebacker Anthony Barr reneged on his agreement with the Jets on Tuesday afternoon, the Jets sweetened their offer to Bell a little but told him it was their final offer. As the day wore on, the Jets told him they would not wait forever for him to make a decision, but they did not give him a firm deadline.

All along the Jets were considered the most serious suitor for Bell. ESPN reported the 49ers made a late bid, but Bell chose the Jets just after midnight on Wednesday morning.

Free agency is always a gamble. Players become free agents for a reason. But this was a gamble the Jets needed to take. They needed to boost their offense after years of drafting poorly. They needed to give Sam Darnold some talent around him as he enters his second year. General manager Mike Maccagnan needed to make a bold move after watching his team win 14 games over the last three seasons.

Bell gives the Jets all that and more. This is an offensive weapon the Jets have not had since at least Brandon Marshall and maybe even Curtis Martin.

It is easy to get bogged down in the arguments about contracts and whether Bell made a mistake by sitting out an entire season. There are concerns about how much tread he has left on the tire after his heavy usage in Pittsburgh and he has been suspended twice.

What is undeniable, though, is Bell’s talent. The Jets landed the best available free agent and one of the best players in football. He is a free agent because of a contract standoff, not because of a dip in productivity or age or injuries. Two years ago, he ran for 1,291 yards and nine touchdowns. He also caught 85 passes for 655 yards. The Jets have not had a rusher gain 1,291 yards since Thomas Jones in 2009. They have not had a player catch 85 passes since Marshall in 2015.

This stat speaks to Bell’s ability: He is No. 1 in NFL history in average yards from scrimmage per game with 129.0 yards per game. The second person on the list is Jim Brown at 125.5.

He will take pressure off Darnold. Ryan compared it to his early Jets teams with Mark Sanchez.

“It would be like having Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene on steroids,” Ryan said. “When I had the rookie quarterback … shoot, we’d still be playing if we had Le’Veon Bell. Nobody would have stopped us. I think that’s the kind of impact this kid could have.”