Benny Snell’s first 100-yard rushing game comes on ‘Monday Night Football’
Benny Snell Football is back, this time on one of the NFL’s biggest stages.
The University of Kentucky’s all-time leading rusher carried the ball 19 times for 113 yards — his first 100-yard game as a pro — on “Monday Night Football” in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 26-16 season-opening win against the Giants in New York.
“The O-line was outstanding. All across the board. They did a great job,” Snell said.
Snell stepped up when the Steelers’ starter, James Conner, exited the game with an ankle injury.
“Most of my workload (usually) is on special teams, so that is what I take my pride in. So whenever my time comes I know it’ll come,” Snell said. “Opportunity presented itself tonight, and I was able to get more carries than usual.”
“I wasn’t surprised by what he was able to do,” Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin said. “He was ready to answer the bell when called upon.”
Snell’s night included several big plays, including a key blitz pickup on a Ben Roethlisberger TD pass and a 30-yard run that helped lead to another Steelers score. He fumbled the ball on an earlier 21-yard run but teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster recovered.
Fellow former Kentucky Wildcat Bud Dupree also starred for the Steelers. Two of his four tackles were for a loss, and he also pressured and deflected a pass attempt by Daniel Jones that was intercepted in the end zone by Pittsburgh’s Cameron Heyward.
Dupree, according to the NFL’s @NextGenStats on Twitter, had seven quarterback pressures.
As a rookie, Snell had a pair of games where he came up just a few yards short of 100 yards. He had 98 yards on 21 carries against the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 24, 2019. He totaled 91 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in the season finale against the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 29, 2019.
According to UK Athletics, Snell is the first former Kentucky star to rush for at least 100 yards in a Monday Night Football game. He also had the most rushing yards by a former UK player in a season opener since Mark Higgs totaled 146 for the Miami Dolphins in 1991.
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 10:07 PM.
