The Pittsburgh Steelers are trying to snap a three-game losing streak coming into Buffalo today to try to take down the Bills, one of the best teams in football. And they will have a quarterback making his first career start while they do so, which is clearly a recipe for success.
Let’s not beat around the bush. The focus today is going to be on said quarterback, Kenny Pickett. The first-round pick from the other side of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, Pickett played a half’s worth of football last week, garnering four meaningful drives. Half of them ended up in the other team’s hands, the other half in the end zone.
So what do we look to? For starters, we’re going to see how much putting the ball in his hands is even a part of the gameplan, especially as part of the ‘scripted plays’ that the team will run in the early portions of the game. Will they try to establish the run first to make his job easier or will they try to surprise the defense by slinging the ball around?
Now, what about his blockers? Von Miller may have lavished praise on this offensive line, but saying nice things about Chukwuma Okorafor and Dan Moore Jr. won’t help them block one of the top pass-rushing front lines in the NFL.
The line has been a pleasant surprise overall, but we’re still waiting on that run game. There have been times where the hole has been there but Najee Harris has not. Other times, he gains four yards on a play blocked up for minus-three. Yet I find myself especially interested, actually, in the workload for Jaylen Warren.
We can’t ignore the return game, where Steven Sims will be taking over this week, perhaps as an audition for taking over the job permanently. Gunner Olszewski fumbled his chance, and now the door is open. Now with a helmet, he also expects to run jet sweeps, he told reporters, at which he was effective in the preseason.
Defensively, there will be no reinforcements just yet. T.J. Watt is at least another week away. The Steelers did a better job last week of more consistently putting pressure on the quarterback, but they struggled to close. That won’t be any easier against Josh Allen. Will they try blitzing him more?
A banged-up secondary is the last thing the Steelers need, but that’s what they have. Not even Minkah Fitzpatrick is at 100 percent after hurting his knee late in Sunday’s game, but they’ll need him to be the center fielder extraordinaire today.
And who in the world is going to cover Stefon Diggs? Nobody successfully, I would imagine. They somehow managed to slow him down last year, but he still had a couple of back-breaking conversions on third down. Cameron Sutton has been sent spinning in circles by one of the best route runners in the game before. What will today bring?
