Broderick Jones does not care about playoff odds. Favorites, underdogs, overs or unders. Just line up and play. That’s his mentality. He made that clear on Friday, saying he doesn’t focus on where Vegas’ line sits.
“I don’t watch that shit, man,” he said via the PPG’s Brian Batko.
Sunday will be Jones’ first NFL postseason game, though he’s no stranger to big-time football atmosphere. His career at Georgia was spent competing for national championships, the Bulldogs coming out on top in 2021 and 2022, the first school to repeat since Alabama a decade earlier.
Of course, a college playoff and NFL postseason game are two different things. But they have the same goal, winning a championship, and for Jones, his focus doesn’t change. 93.7 The Fan expanded slightly on Jones’ comments.
“I try and stay away from it as much as possible,” he said via 93.7 The Fan. “We don’t care about what outsiders think of us.”
As of Friday afternoon, the Steelers are consensus 9.5-point underdogs to the Bills. That’s despite an over/under slowly falling due to the frigid and windy weather conditions expected this weekend, a mix of wind gusts, snow, and freezing temperatures. The over/under has dropped all the way down to 34 points, the lowest in a Pittsburgh playoff game since Tim Tebow broke Steelers fans’ hearts in the 2011-2012 Wild Card game, hitting WR Demaryius Thomas for a touchdown and overtime victory.
While Jones is right in ignoring the prognostications, history is lined up against Pittsburgh. Over the last decade, teams that are heavy underdogs, like Pittsburgh, are just 1-12, the lone upset coming from the Tennessee Titans knocking off the Baltimore Ravens in the 2019 Divisional Round. Buffalo was nearly upset in last year’s Wild Card game, beating the Skylar Thompson-led Miami Dolphins 34-31, and the Bills are currently football’s hottest team, winners of five straight.
If Pittsburgh is to pull off the upset, it must run the ball early, often, and effectively. Following Jones, who has struggled in pass protection but an excellent run blocker, will be key.
