Steelers Scouting Report: What to expect from the Buffalo Bills
Unfortunately for Steelers fans, our hopes of an undefeated season were put to an end on Monday night in a loss to the Washington Football Team. The good news is, the Steelers are still in the top spot in the AFC and have another opportunity to prove themselves this weekend. However, they will need to clean things up as this will likely be their toughest task of the regular season.
This Sunday night, the Steelers will travel to Buffalo to face a 9-3 Bills team that is one of the hottest teams in the league right now. This matchup will have a huge impact of the AFC playoff picture as both teams are looking to secure a top seed.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at this week’s opponent, the Buffalo Bills.
Injury Report
While they aren’t as bad off as a lot of teams in the league, the Bills do have some injuries to keep in mind on both sides of the ball this weekend.
On offense, they will already be without wide receivers John Brown (Ankle) and Isaiah Hodgins (Shoulder), as well as offensive lineman Cody Ford (Meniscus) who are all on the IR. Wide receiver Andre Roberts (Achilles) and center Jon Feliciano (Knee) are both listed as questionable and were limited in Thursday’s practice.
Defensively, the Bills will be without linebackers Del’Shawn Phillips (Quadriceps) and Tyrel Dodson (Hamstring), along with cornerback Cam Lewis (Wrist) as they are all on the IR. Safety Jaquan Johnson (Ankle) and Quinton Jefferson (Hip) are both listed as questionable. Jefferson was limited in Thursday’s practice while Johnson did not participate.
Josh Allen Has Become a Top Level Quarterback
Much of the recent success of the Buffalo Bills can be credited to the growth of their third-year quarterback, Josh Allen. Allen is having his best season yet so far as he is sitting at fifth in the league in passing yards with 3,403 along with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has benefited tremendously from new addition Stefon Diggs who has thrived in his first season as the number one receiver for the Bills.
Diggs is fifth in the league in receiving yards with 1,037 off 90 receptions, along with four touchdowns.
Cole Beasley has also had a great year out of the slot with 66 receptions for 797 yards and four touchdowns. They will be joined in the passing attack by rookie Gabriel Davis, Isaiah McKenzie, and tight ends Dawson Knox and Tyler Kroft.
This will make for a very exciting matchup for Allen this weekend as he will be facing one of the best secondaries in the league. The Steelers are currently second in the NFL in passing defense, allowing 199.8 yards per game and 17 total passing touchdowns while coming away with a league-leading 16 interceptions. They will also look to continue to get pressure on the quarterback from their pass rush that leads the league with 44 total sacks, 12 of those coming from Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner T.J. Watt.
While their passing attack has been dangerous this season, the Bills have struggled to get much going on the ground so far. Second-year running back Devin Singletary had high hopes coming into this season but hasn’t lived up to those expectations as he has 128 carries for 544 yards and only one touchdown.
The sad thing is, he still leads the team in rushing. Allen leads the Bills in rushing touchdowns with six. Rookie running back Zack Moss will also see plenty of action, especially in short-yardage and goal-line situations.
They will be facing a Steelers defense that has been solid against the run this season. Pittsburgh currently ranks sixth in the league in rushing defense, allowing 100.7 rushing yards per game and seven total rushing touchdowns this season.
Unfortunately, they have taken a huge hit to their front seven as they already lost linebacker Devin Bush for the season and now are looking to be without linebackers Robert Spillane and Vince Williams as well. It will be interesting to see how they adjust without the top three players at the inside linebacker spot and if Buffalo can take advantage of it.
Bills Defense Has Disappointed This Season
Coming into this season, many people (myself included) expected the Buffalo Bills to have one of the better defensive units in the league. While they haven’t been the worst, they haven’t lived up to those expectations. The Bills are currently 21st in the league in total defense, allowing 375.5 yards per game and 25.5 points per game. If you had to pick a strength of this defense, it would be against the pass.
They rank 20th in the NFL in passing defense, giving up 249.5 passing yards per game and 19 total passing touchdowns while coming away with ten interceptions. Their defense is led by two of the best at their positions in cornerback Tre’Davious White and strong safety Jordan Poyer. White leads the team with three interceptions while Poyer has two of his own.
They will be joined in the secondary by Josh Norman at the other corner, Micah Hyde at free safety, and Taron Johnson at nickel. Levi Wallace will also likely rotate in at corner.
This secondary will be facing a Steelers offense that has been very pass-heavy this season. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been very much in the MVP and Comeback Player of the Year conversation and will be looking to lead the Steelers back to their winning ways. Hopefully, he can get some help from his abundance of skilled receivers who have been inconsistent at catching the football the past two games.
Against the run, the Bills are more towards the bottom of the league. They currently rank 24th in the league in rushing defense, allowing 126 rushing yards per game and 16 total rushing touchdowns so far.
Their front seven is led by middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds who has 91 total tackles on the season. He will be joined at linebacker by Matt Milano with A.J. Klein also playing a key role in the defense. In front of them, the defensive line is led by promising second-year defensive tackle Ed Oliver. Oliver will be joined in the trenches by Quinton Jefferson at the other tackle spot with Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison at the ends. Trent Murphy and rookie A.J. Epenesa will rotate in at the ends with Harrison Phillips and Vernon Butler seeing time at tackle.
The Bills will be facing a Steelers running game that has been non-existent in the past few games. In their loss against Washington, they were held to only 21 total rushing yards. Luckily for the Steelers, lead back James Conner has been taken off the COVID-19 list and should be able to play this weekend. Conner had also struggled in his last few games he played in so he will be looking to get back on track.
Final Thoughts
As I said already, this is going to be Pittsburgh’s toughest task of the regular season. How they bounce back from the loss in a big game like this could tell us a lot about how the rest of the regular season is going to look like. This is also a huge game for the Bills as they look to continue climbing in the playoff picture and prove that they are a legit Super Bowl contender.
I strongly believe that this will be a very back and forth game coming down to the final minutes. Ben and Allen will provide us with a very exciting shootout, both making plays to keep their teams in the game.
For the Steelers, this will be a big bounce-back game for them as they will show they are not frauds. James Conner will provide some balance for the offense and I see Diontae Johnson making up for some drops the past couple of weekends with at least one touchdown. On defense, the pass rush will come through down the stretch to force Allen into some bad decisions and the secondary will do the rest.
This will also serve as a key performance for Avery Williamson as he will prove that he was well worth the trade. I have the Steelers holding on to win this one 31-27 to get back on the right track.
