Steelers Now
The boo-birds were out in full force at Acrisure Stadium as the Pittsburgh Steelers were embarrassed by the Buffalo Bills in front of 66,068 fans. The 26-7 final score doesn’t quite encapsulate just how rough this performance was on both sides of the ball. Allowing a whopping 249 rushing yards en route to nearly 42 minutes of time of possession feels like a new low on the season and perhaps in the Mike Tomlin era as a whole.
The good news is that they have an opportunity to get back into the driver’s seat of the AFC North if they can knock off the Baltimore Ravens next week.
Before we turn the page on this nightmare, let’s talk through some winners and losers from Week 13.
There weren’t many bright spots today to choose from, but Echols had a few impressive reps in coverage working out in the slot, including picking off Josh Allen in the first quarter. He was targeted four times, allowing just one catch, and helped keep Buffalo’s top receiving threat, Khalil Shakir, in check. At this point, it’s fair to categorize the Steelers’ offseason as a disaster, but Echols has been a nice find for Omar Khan on a team-friendly contract. So long as he continues to put out quality tape the rest of the way, he should be penciled in as a starter for 2026.
From Pittsburgh’s perspective, their biggest worry coming into the season was the age of their defense and potential decline from some of their best players. Even though he’s still a useful player, Watt’s impact on games continues to wane now that he’s not at his athletic peak. The Bills’ game plan was super simple: get in nickel personnel and wash him down the line of scrimmage to get their back 1v1 versus a cornerback. Buffalo came into this one down both of their tackles, and the Steelers didn’t sack Josh Allen a single time. When the organization made him the highest-paid non-quarterback, they expected more production than what they’ve gotten this year.
Can you tell who the Bills wanted to attack in the run game? pic.twitter.com/cOaEYrx4eb
— Derrick (@Steelers_DB) December 1, 2025
It’s always difficult to evaluate offensive line play, whether positive or negative, from the broadcast angle. With that being said, Seumalo had at least two noteworthy blocks that helped spring some of the Steelers’ best runs of the afternoon, and he was charted with just one pressure on PFF’s initial grading. Another reason that I felt compelled to add him to this list is that the 32-year-old has been playing some of his best ball recently, despite battling through a pec injury. The play of the offensive line has been one of the very few bright spots for the offense over the past two months or so, and that deserves recognition.
As if the visceral...
