The Bills sit at (6-6) good enough to put them at third in the AFC East with a quarter left to go in the season. The Pittsburgh Steelers have faired only slightly better than Bills up to this point in the season with a record of (7-5), good enough for second in the AFC North as well slotting them as the 8th seed in the AFC while the Bills are the 10th. This Sunday’s matchup of Pittsburgh and Buffalo will put these two teams who are fighting week in and week out for a playoff spot against one another. In an extremely tight AFC playoff picture a loss here can ultimately remove the Bills from any postseason contention as the road ahead of them would simply be too steep.”We know what this game is all about and you know, what this game represents. You know, the fact we have to win this game to have any hopes of being in the playoffs, we know it starts with this one,” explained Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan.
This matchup, however, sports two teams who look to stack up pretty well together on paper and can ultimately be a tight one throughout. In what has been common knowledge the Bills have been dominant on the ground this season, running their way to the league lead in rushing yards per game. The three-headed rushing monster of LeSean McCoy, Mike Gillislee, and Tyrod Taylor has given the Bills 161.9 yards per game. On the opposite side of the ball for the Steelers, they sport a defense that has quietly undergone vast improvements bringing them to be top ten in the league in run defense and in opponent points scored per game. With 26 sacks on the season led by the veteran James Harrison to go along with 9 sacks on the season, this defense has its fair share of playmakers to give the Bills trouble. Specifically, the play of linebacker Ryan Shazier will be something to look for in this game as he will aim to keep Taylor from scrambling and running at will as he has done to oh so many other defenses this season.
The Bills offense, however, has been under scrutiny throughout the season, specifically that of quarterback Tyrod Taylor who will be a free-agent following the season.”I think Tyrod’s had a lot of really good games for us and like our football team, maybe he’s had some games that aren’t quite to that level, but that’s how I feel about him,” said Rex Ryan. “I believe that Tyrod Taylor’s an outstanding quarterback has a chance to be an outstanding quarterback.” On the season Taylor has thrown eleven touchdowns to only five interceptions, though he is only averaging under six yards per throw. Even with the unspectacular numbers, Taylor will not point fingers at his lack of help offensively and the injuries that have plagued the Bills weapons.”It’s been a battle but like I’ve said, guys have worked through it. We haven’t complained once, we’ve just tried to find ways to win each and every week. Injuries happen in this league and it’s unfortunate and we’ve dealt with it and have to continue to keep pressing forward.”
The Bills and Steelers offenses have been polar opposites this season as the Steelers have perhaps one of the best offensive trios in the sport with Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown. The tandem of Roethlisberger and Brown has been nearly unstoppable this season as over a third of the Steelers passing game has gone through Brown this season as he has already put together another 1,000-yard receiving season with eleven touchdowns thus far.
“Offensively, when you have Le’Veon Bell back, you know, what a tremendous back. You know a guy with size, speed, power, and patience. Like that’s a thing when you look at it. You don’t necessarily say that this is, you know the way he looks and sometimes the way he runs with power but the patience is, you don’t necessarily see that in the NFL. So really, you can’t assume this guy is down,” explained Ryan. “We’ve got to do a great job of getting that picket fence out there and corralling this guy. And then, oh, by the way, Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback and Antonio Brown and company as receivers so another big challenge for the defense and we know we’ve got to be at our very best and play our best game you know, to have a shot against these guys.”
In a must win situation for the Bills Sunday can prove what this team is truly made of, especially follow a letdown of a loss a week ago against the Oakland Raiders. A win here would go a long way in narrowing the gap in the AFC and with their upcoming schedule give them a very real chance at a 10-win season.
