Jenna’s Wild Card Outlook: #2 Bills vs. #7 Steelers

Guess who’s back? I am grateful to have the opportunity to write an outlook article this week! The Buffalo Bills are once again AFC East Champions for the fourth consecutive season! A hard fought sweep of the Miami Dolphins assured them a seat in the NFL Playoffs, not only as a division winner, but also as the second seed in the AFC. Oh, how far we’ve come.

Not too long ago the Buffalo Bills were the laughing stock of the league, having fallen to eleventh place. Now, they’re able to smile at their haters. They’ve made it this far — who is to stop them? Well, the Bills will have two opponents taking the field on Sunday: the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Orchard Park weather. As of right now, there are no indications that the game will be moved to a different time. I will go forth with this article as if the game takes place on Sunday at 1:00 pm, because the snow and wind will certainly affect how I feel about this game!

Matchup to Watch: Bills Run Defense vs. Steelers Run Game

The Steelers have faced a similar plight to the Bills. Both teams fired their offensive coordinators halfway through the season, and they each found new identities, particularly in the running game. Pittsburgh’s offense found it extremely difficult to put points on the board, which led to the firing of OC Matt Canada in late November. That action, along with the eventual replacement of QBs Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky with Mason Rudolph, proved to be the correct move. Because the Steelers offense has been operating at a higher level ever since. This is especially true of their rushing offense.

In the past three games, with Rudolph as the starter, the Steelers have rushed for 156.7 yards per game. Prior to that, they averaged 110 yards per game (according to my calculations). It figures that promoting the running backs coach to interim offensive coordinator would inflate the rushing statistics. The Bills defense, although likely to be short handed with LB Tyrel Dodson and CB Rasul Douglas questionable, must be prepared to stop the run first. The weather may not allow either offense to pass very much. So I expect both quarterbacks to hand the ball off more frequently throughout the game.

Prediction: Buffalo will get more Rushing Yds than Passing Yds

My prediction is solely based on whether the game will remain in its current time slot. The current weather forecast predicts there will be heavy lake effect snow, a sustained wind, and moderate to high wind gusts at kickoff. Although QB Josh Allen can sling the football, I don’t believe that passing the ball will be a popular choice in these conditions. Thus, expect to have RBs James Cook and Ty Johnson carry the load. There may even be a Playoff Lenny sighting!

Conclusion

The 2023-24 NFL Playoffs are underway, and the Buffalo Bills are in the tournament! Making the playoffs was considered a far shot at one point, but the Bills climbed back into the conversation just in time, and even won the AFC East to secure their spot. Much like the winter weather, the Bills have been so unpredictable this season.

What we do know is that they’re riding a five-game win streak that has gotten them to where they are today. It would be foolish to think that a little snow would get in their way, considering all of the adversity they’ve faced in the past four months! If I didn’t make it clear already, I think that this game will be dominated by running backs on both teams. Who can out-rush the other? We’ll find out which run game holds up in the Orchard Park blizzard!

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