Buffalo Rumblings
Following a week where both the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers lost, this Sunday’s matchup at Acrisure Stadium should carry a playoff-like atmosphere. The Bills are looking up at the AFC East-leading New England Patriots, while the Steelers hold the lead in the AFC North still thanks to the Baltimore Ravens losing on Thanksgiving night.
With the news that quarterback Aaron Rodgers is set to return in Week 13, the Bills will have to play smart defensive football if they hope to outlast a Steelers team looking to put some distance between them and the rest of their division rivals. To get us set for Sunday’s game, I spoke with Ryan Parish, deputy editor with Behind the Steel Curtain.
Parish and I chatted about a wide range of topics, including the additions of wide receiver DK Metcalf and Aaron Rodgers, whether James Harrison’s concerns about the Steelers are overblown, and the best way to attack Pittsburgh offensively and defensively.
1. After a solid start that saw Pittsburgh defeat both the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, what’s behind Pittsburgh’s fall back to Earth?
Truthfully, I’m not sure the Steelers have played well enough at any point this year to call their struggles a fall. This team has been wildly inconsistent all year, and really for the last five or so years if we take the long view of things. The Steelers have talented players, but they consistently seem to be outschemed, outcoached, and outmanaged on game days. I saw a meme the other day that said being a Steelers fan is looking at the schedule and finding out if your season will start strong and then collapse to a wild card loss, or start awful and then be a slog to reach a wild card loss. If anything, losing to the Steelers should have you questioning the legitimacy of the Colts and Patriots’ status as contenders.
The Steelers are rarely able to play complementary football. The offense struggles to sustain drives and rarely uses the middle of the field. The defense has a fierce pass rush and a gifted secondary, but there are frequent miscommunications and a stubborn refusal from the coaching staff to adjust to schemes that have been unsuccessful all year, primarily a heavy usage of single high safety.
2. What has the addition of wide receiver DK Metcalf meant for the Steelers — and how is it that backup running back Kenneth Gainwell has as many receptions as Metcalf?
Metcalf has shone at times — how long ago that 80-yard touchdown against Minnesota feels — but the Steelers are still handicapped at quarterback. Aaron Rodgers is a shell of himself and so skittish of pressure that he’ll often leave clean pockets or get the ball out before plays have developed. Even more troubling, there have been times Metcalf was open over the middle and Rodgers, as well as Mason Rudolph, failed to pull the trigger. It’s unclear to Steelers fans if that’s because they aren’t seeing...
