Le'Veon Bell's announcement last month that he was going to return to the Steelers between Weeks 7 and 8 was welcomed news after the Steelers had fallen to 1-2-1 following their Week 4 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Bell's replacement, James Conner, and Pittsburgh's rushing attack was struggling, as Conner managed just 19 yards on nine carries in the team's 26-14 loss to the Ravens. It marked the third consecutive game that Conner had failed to get the Steelers' running attack going after rushing for 135 yards and two scores in the team's opening game against the Browns in Cleveland.

Since the loss to Baltimore, however, Conner and Pittsburgh's rushing attack has been the league's best. Over the past three games, Conner has rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns in each contest that included rushing for a career high 146 yards in the team's 33-18 win over the Browns this past Sunday. Conner, who was tabbed as the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts, has more than proven that he should be the team's starting running back for the foreseeable future, even when Bell decides to return to the team. Bell has to report to the Steelers by Nov. 13 of he will ruled out for the rest of the 2018 season.

Heading into Sunday's game against the Ravens, Conner is third in the NFL with 599 rushing yards. He's second to only Todd Gurley with nine rushing touchdowns. His 4.7 yards per carry average is tied for the second best average in the NFL among running backs with at least 100 carries. Conner has also caught 31 passes for 323 yards and is averaging 131.7 all-purpose yards per game. Simply put, Conner is playing at an elite level while helping the Steelers win three consecutive games after Pittsburgh's slow start to the season.

Along with Conner's production, he's also endeared himself to the locker room, particularly to Ben Roethlisberger and Pittsburgh's offensive line. Throughout the year and especially over the last three games, it looks as if the Steelers' offensive line has made it a personal mission to ensure Conner's success each and every Sunday. In return, Conner has made it a point to praise Pittsburgh's offensive line whenever he is asked to speak to the media.

"[My success], it’s a testament to the guys up front," Conner said two weeks ago during an appearance on Speak for Yourself. Maurkice Pouncey, Ramon Foster, [David] DeCastro, Al [Alejandro Villanueva], Gil [Marcus Gilbert]. All those guys up front, man, are beasts, and they make my job easy."

Bell is a great player, and if he comes back this season, he will undoubtedly have a role in the Steelers' offense. But given how well Conner has played while also factoring in how he has integrated himself with his teammates, the job of Pittsburgh's starting running back should continue to belong to No. 30 as long as he is capable of playing each week for the black and gold.