Entering the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs, there are some great games on the docket, including some tremendous storylines like the return of Matthew Stafford to Detroit to take on the Lions, and Mike McCarthy battling against the Green Bay Packers.
But for CBS Sports’ Will Brunson, the matchup between the No. 2-seed Buffalo Bills and the No. 7-seed Pittsburgh Steelers is the worst matchup of the weekend, one that he believes could be a blowout.
In a piece for CBSSports.com ranking the best matchups in the Wild Card in the AFC and NFC, Brinson placed Steelers-Bills at No. 6 overall as the worst matchup, writing that even with the Steelers playing with house money not having star outside linebacker T.J. Watt could be major trouble for the Black and Gold.
“This is still a ‘good’ game in the sense that the two fan bases should be hyped and you have the super rare COLLEGE REVENGE (?) ANGLE, with Mike Tomlin and Sean McDermott both having attended William & Mary. But we’re not likely going to get T.J. Watt for this game with an MCL sprain, which is going to cause problems for the Pittsburgh defense,” Brinson writes regarding the Steelers-Bills matchup.
Sunday’s 1 p.m. game at Highmark Stadium should be a very good matchup regardless. The Steelers are playing some very good football, running the football quite well while also getting some impressive play from quarterback Mason Rudolph, who has hit on a number of big plays in the passing game in the last three weeks.
Pittsburgh seems to have figured things out offensively, which is very encouraging.
However, the loss of Watt to a knee injury in the regular-season finale against the Baltimore Ravens is rather deflating. As his brother, J.J. Watt, reported Sunday on NFL Today on CBS, it’s a Grade 2 MCL sprain, meaning he’ll likely miss a couple of weeks in the best-case scenario. The Steelers might not have a couple weeks though.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Watt put a brace on it and try to give it a go, though he’d be limited. The good news is that the Steelers have good depth behind him in veteran Markus Golden and rookie Nick Herbig.
Still, it will be a tough task against a star quarterback like Buffalo’s Josh Allen without their game-wrecker in Watt coming off the edge opposite Alex Highsmith. The good news is that star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is returning from injury, and veteran safety Damontae Kazee will be back from suspension, giving the Steelers a significant boost in the secondary.
Still, Allen is a tough matchup for the Steelers, especially after he dropped 38 points on them last season in a 38-3 win in Buffalo.
“If Josh Allen cuts down on the turnovers, this could be a blowout, but the Steelers will be playing with house money after sneaking into the postseason thanks to the Jaguars failures on Sunday,” Brinson writes.
The Steelers are playing with house money. They are the underdogs — in a big way — entering the Wild Card matchup. But they’ve been playing with house money the last three weeks, leading to three-straight wins and some of the best performances of the season offensively.
That is encouraging. They’ve very clearly figured out what their identity is offensively and what works best with Rudolph, and they are playing quite well. The run game plays anywhere in the playoffs, and if it’s going to be snowing in Buffalo on Sunday that’s all the better for the Steelers, who thrive in sloppy, ugly football games.
It seems like many in the national media are overlooking the Steelers because of the matchup. That’s a good thing. The Steelers thrive when under the radar.
