Former Kentucky star Benny Snell scores first NFL touchdown for Steelers
Former University of Kentucky star Benny Snell scored his first NFL touchdown in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 20-13 victory against the visiting Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
The rookie running back had 16 rushes for 63 yards, including a 1-yard score that helped give the Steelers a 17-10 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way. Snell also had one catch for four yards.
“This is a great feeling, this is a great team win,” Snell told reporters after the game. “We got it done.”
Twenty-seven of Snell’s yards came on a late fourth-quarter drive that included runs of 11, four, four, five and three yards. The 11-yard carry came on first-and-10 from the Steelers’ own 1-yard line.
“He is a guy that gets better as the game goes on,” Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin said afterward. “He’s got the mentality of a featured runner. He likes the grit associated with a volume of carries. … None of that is surprising to us. We saw it on Kentucky tape, but it’s good to see that he can take it to Sunday stadiums.”
“It was very exciting,” Snell said when asked about his first TD. “I got to keep the ball, too. I’m happy about that.”
Sunday’s game was Snell’s third this season with more than 50 rushing yards. He ran for 75 yards on 17 carries in his first game with major playing time in a 24-17 win against the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 13. He gained 98 yards on 21 attempts last week against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers (7-5) are 3-0 in games that Snell has more than 15 carries.
▪ Another former Kentucky Wildcat starred on defense for the Steelers. Bud Dupree had 1.5 sacks to push his season total to a career-high 8.5. He forced a fumble that the Steelers recovered on his first sack of Baker Mayfield.
He finished with six total tackles (four solo) against the Browns.
▪ The Steelers started undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges, who had been cut after training camp before being re-signed by the team, at quarterback. He threw for 212 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
“I’ve always believed in myself,” Hodges said in his postgame interview. “I know I have people in my corner that have believed in me. Even the guys on the team, even when I was let go, I had a bunch of them text me and say, ‘Hey, this isn’t over for you.’”
When asked about Snell’s fourth-quarter carry from the 1-yard line, Hodges said, “Gave it to Benny Snell and as soon as I handed it and looked back there was a great hole there and he hit it, got the first down. It’s always huge and big to get that first first down when you’re backed up like that.”
This story was originally published December 1, 2019 at 4:51 PM.
