Bengals' Joe Mixon responds to Le'Veon Bell's claim he copied Steelers RB

Jordan Heck

Bengals' Joe Mixon responds to Le'Veon Bell's claim he copied Steelers RB image

The Steelers and Bengals are not playing each other in Week 8, but the rivalry is still very much alive.

Pittsburgh was scheduled for the Sunday night game in Detroit, which means the players were able spend some time watching the early afternoon games. Le'Veon Bell decided to pay attention to the Bengals game, specifically running back Joe Mixon.

MORE: Bell: Burfict has 'gotta go'

Bell has some beef with Mixon after the Bengals back made a comment last week about not getting the ball enough.

"It's frustrating. I feel like I'm seeing (Le'Veon Bell])got the ball 35 times, and I got it seven in the first half and then don't touch the ball again," Mixon said. "Me personally, I feel like I can do way more than (Bell) did. Like I said, I only had seven carries. I can't showcase nothing if I don't get the ball. There's nothing else I can say."

Bell took notice of that comment and then decided to mock Mixon on Sunday.

Mixon and Bell first down celebration

These celebrations are from last week, when the two teams played each other. Bell is a veteran and has used this move for several seasons. Mixon is a rookie, so it definitely looks like he stole Bell's style.

Also, if you notice in the celebrations, Bell is wearing an arm sleeve while Mixon is not. For some reason, Mixon was wearing the sleeve Sunday against the Colts. Bell called him out for that, too, as well as the mismatched gloves.

Bell and Mixon arm sleeves

leveon-bell-joe-mixon-FTR

So, was this on purpose? It certainly seems like an odd thing for Mixon to do. An arm sleeve is one thing, but then you pair it with the mixed gloves, and Bell starts to build a solid case. 

UPDATE: Mixon responded to Bell's tweets after the game.

Here's Mixon's comments:

"I'm not worried about him," Mixon said. "I'm just going to continue to keep grinding and do what I do best, and that's play football."

Mixon added in a few more football clichés, saying he's just going to continue to be him. He was asked if Bell was someone Mixon wanted to imitate, but the Bengals back said he wants to imitate Adrian Peterson. 

He also said there's no beef between the two of them that he knows of.

Jordan Heck

Jordan Heck Photo

Jordan Heck is a Social Media Producer at Sporting News. Before working here, he was a Digital Content Producer at The Indianapolis Star. He graduated with a degree from Indiana University.