Spartans in the pros: Le’Veon Bell’s struggles continue in Week 2

LANSING — The chatter has already begun.

Is Le’Veon Bell the same guy who rushed for 1,268 yards last season? Did missing training camp hurt him this much? Is he better off working at Dairy Queen? My fantasy team is ruined!

Through two weeks, the former second-round pick out of Michigan State has done nothing to silence the critics or fantasy football gurus around the country.

In Week 1, Bell carried the ball just 10 times for 32 yards. Sunday, in a 26-9 home win over the Vikings, the Steelers workhorse toted the rock 27 times for only 83 yards. Bell was also a non-factor in the passing game, hauling in four passes for 4 yards.

Last Tuesday, Bell spent his off day handing out ice cream cones and Blizzards through a drive-thru window at a Pittsburgh Dairy Queen. During the offseason, amid his contract holdout, a video of Bell filling out an application to work at the fast food restaurant went viral. In response to local media, Bell said he was “technically jobless” at the time he agreed to work there.

WEEK 1:Spartans in the pros: Bennie Fowler hauls in pair of touchdowns in prime time

“It’s way harder than I thought it was going to be,” Bell told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I think everybody’s job is different. I don’t think this job is any easier than my job, and I don’t think my job is any easier than their job.”

Bell’s real job hasn’t looked too easy so far in 2017. He has yet to find the end zone after scoring nine touchdowns in 2016.

Here’s how the rest of the Spartans in the NFL fared during week one:

Garrett Celek, TE, San Francisco 49ers — The sixth-year tight end caught his first pass of the season for the offensively challenged 49ers Sunday in a 12-9 road loss to rival Seattle. Celek tallied six of Brian Hoyer’s 99 passing yards on the day.

Jack Conklin, T, Tennessee Titans — Conklin, a 2016 first-team, all-pro NFL tackle, helped open holes for seven Tennessee running backs, who racked up 179 yards and three touchdowns Sunday in a dominating 37-16 road victory in Jacksonville. Titans' quarterback Marcus Mariota threw for 215 yards and a touchdown and was only sacked once.

Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins — Cousins completed 18 of 27 passes for 179 yards and a score in a 27-20 win over the Rams Sunday in front of a half-empty Los Angeles Coliseum. The sixth-year signal caller from Holland is playing on a one-year, $23.9 million deal.

Darqueze Dennard, CB, Cincinnati Bengals — The Bengals defense is doing its job. The offense — not so much. Fourth-year cornerback Dennard made three tackles and deflected a pass Thursday night in a 13-9 home loss to the Houston Texans. The Bengals are now 0-2 and have lost both games in Cincinnati.

Bennie Fowler, WR, Denver Broncos — A week after hauling in a pair of touchdown passes in an opening Monday night win over the Chargers, Fowler caught only one pass for 8 yards in a 42-17 blowout win over the Cowboys Sunday at Mile High Stadium. During the second quarter, Fowler was hit while diving for a pass, crashing headfirst into the turf. He attempted to walk back to the huddle twice, collapsing both times. He left the game with a concussion but later tweeted out that he was “OK.”

William Gholston, DE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Gholston, a fifth-year defensive end, made his season debut for the Buccaneers Sunday, finishing with five tackles, including one for loss, in a 29-7 home win over the Chicago Bears.

Joel Heath, DE, Houston Texans — Heath, a fifth-year defensive end from Detroit, finished with a tackle in a dominating defensive performance from the Texans Thursday night in Cincinnati. The Bengals rushed for just 82 yards, and Houston got to Bengals' quarterback Andy Dalton three times in the Texans 13-9 win.

Brian Hoyer, QB, San Francisco 49ers — The 49ers are struggling on offense. Actually, that’s a massive understatement. And it all starts with quarterback Hoyer, who completed only 15 passes for 99 yards and threw an interception in a 12-9 road loss to division-rival Seattle. San Francisco has scored only 12 points through eight quarters of football, and Hoyer has yet to throw a touchdown pass.

Kurtis Drummond, S, Houston Texans — Drummond was held off the stat sheet in a Week 1 loss to Jacksonville. Thursday night in Cincinnati, the third-year safety picked up three tackles in a 13-9 road win over the Bengals.

Montae Nicholson, S, Washington Redskins — The Redskins rookie safety made two tackles Sunday in a 27-20 road win over the Rams. Nicholson did not record a tackle in Week 1.

Domata Peko, DT, Denver Broncos — Peko only made one tackle Sunday afternoon in Denver, but his Broncos dominated the Cowboys 42-17 and held last year’s NFL rushing leader Ezekiel Elliott to only 8 yards on nine rushing attempts. The Broncos defense also sacked Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott twice.

Trae Waynes, CB, Minnesota Vikings – Coming off an 11-tackle performance in a week one victory over New Orleans, Waynes, a 2015 first-round pick of the Vikings, made five tackles in a 26-9 road loss in Pittsburgh.