Five Steelers to watch in matchup with Buffalo Bills
Before every game of the 2020 NFL regular season, Steel City Underground will do a full-roster analysis to find five Pittsburgh Steelers players to keep a special eye on when watching on game day. This week we focus on the Steelers we think will make a difference in the game against the Buffalo Bills in Week 14.
There was nothing pretty about the Week 13 loss to the Washington Football Team; the Pittsburgh Steelers looked flat and tired, had trouble making routine catches, couldn’t get any push from their offensive line. After watching one of the worst outings the Steelers have put together in quite some time – while giving them a teeny bit of understanding that they were forced to play three games with very little rest and without some of their key players – we’re going to shuffle things up this week with the 5 Steelers fans should watch when the black and gold play the Buffalo Bills as well as focus on major areas where key players need to step up.
The biggest area of concern?
A lot of complaints about the lack of balanced offense and a truly ineffective run game has carried on repetitively, and last week it really came to a head. In our “Five to Watch” preview before the Steelers hosted Washington, we noted that the offensive line was a major area to pay attention to. This week, the offensive line is quite possibly the biggest area of concern for Pittsburgh. It’s clear that Pro Bowl right guard David DeCastro is not 100 percent, Alejandro Villanueva is getting out-leveraged at times and made a critical ‘down the field’ penalty that negated a touchdown, Matt Feiler and Chukwuma Okorafor have both struggled off and on, and J.C. Hassenauer is not Maurkice Pouncey.
I hate getting down on offensive linemen because they’re typically one of the most intelligent groups of men in the game. They have to be able to read everything coming at them, determine their gaps, watch for the blitz, understand if they’re pulling or not while offering pass protection, and run blocking. It’d be enough to make most of us feel completely overwhelmed. Well, this season, the typically stalwart offensive line has proven it is overwhelmed.
All is not lost, though. They were still able to keep Ben Roethlisberger functioning and out of Washington’s potentially punishing grasp. There’s definitely a need to have a big improvement, however, this week against the Bills if the Steelers hope to keep up with Josh Allen and Buffalo’s ability to put points on the scoreboard.
Week 14 is likely to go the way the offensive line goes, at least offensively, unless Roethlisberger somehow channels his rookie season and finds a way to be mobile enough to keep the Buffalo defense completely on their heels.
Most dropped passes this season
▪️ Steelers – 34
▪️ Eagles – 31
▪️ Cowboys – 29 pic.twitter.com/0zp0LbbqxA— PFF (@PFF) December 8, 2020
No more excuses for receivers
Dropped passes have been a major issue for Pittsburgh this season, which is even more disappointing when you consider the level of talent the Steelers’ receiving corps has. The fact that head coach Mike Tomlin said the following this week ought to signal that excuses will go nowhere:
“They can catch the ball, or they can get replaced by someone who will catch it. It’s just as simple as that. Like I’ve often said, I expect guys to make routine plays, routinely. When there is a pattern of that not happening, we have to look at who we are throwing the ball to…
The coaching of catching the football to those who are employed to do it at this level is not something I have a lot of patience for. It’s not something any of us have a lot of patience for. Those guys’ job is to catch the football, particularly the routine ones. Where there’s a pattern you should expect to see less opportunities. That is just fair. That is just part of what this business and our game is about.”
It hasn’t just been one player or another. Unfortunately, drops have been committed across the board by the receiving corps. One minute tight end Eric Ebron is making a spectacular catch and the next he has let a ball go right through his hands. Diontae Johnson is hot and cold. JuJu Smith-Schuster comes up clutch in a situation where he has to battle for the ball only to drop an easy pass over the middle. James Washington and Chase Claypool are out there fighting when they have opportunities but even they have not had the surest of hands lately.
Maintain fluidity
NFL games are fluid; not to give Tomlin any more Tomlinisms but tactical considerations should change rapidly given the fluidity of the situation a team is in. The Steelers haven’t been able to be as dynamic in the past couple of weeks because they’ve lost that.
“We have to maintain fluidity as players available to you change… The quality of our performance can’t just depend on the presence of a Maurkice Pouncey or a James Conner or a Vance McDonald and guys like that,” Tomlin said this week. “To be quite honest with you, that pisses me off because we have to be the type of group that endures regardless of who is available.”
Individuals key to team success
In no particular order, after doing the above analysis, the following are our Top 5 players that Steelers Nation should keep their eyes on against the Bills.
Ben Roethlisberger – can the savvy vet once again pull his offense together and get them to work as one machine? It will take leadership, patience, and ‘Big Ben’ playing at his best to do it.
“I need to give (the receivers) balls that are more catchable. I need to be my best so they can be their best. When they are at their best, we are pretty good.” – Roethlisberger
Cameron Sutton – with Joe Haden in the concussion protocol and being evaluated and Steven Nelson coming off of an injury, Sutton will be one to watch in the Steelers defensive backfield. A big game from him would help make Bills quarterback Josh Allen a little less dynamic.
Avery Williamson– with Robert Spillane still having a knee injury evaluated, and Vince Williams on the COVID-19 protocol, Williamson will get the call to show he can lead the interior linebackers in both stopping the run and dropping into pass defense. He’ll get help from Marcus Allen and Ulysees Gilbert III.
James Conner – expect Conner to return with some sense of urgency in proving that he can make a difference in both the run and receiving game this week.
T.J. Watt – playing opposite Alex Highsmith, Watt didn’t lose any of his aggression last week. Expect him to dial up the heat against Josh Allen.
