The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering their wild-card game against the Buffalo Bills as big underdogs. The Bills are favored by 10 points, and former NFL WR Keyshawn Johnson thinks that isn’t enough. Johnson joined Undisputed earlier this week and said he believes the Bills will “boat race” Pittsburgh.
When he asked to predict the score, Johnson said, “35-10, man, Bills. And that’s going to be light. [Pittsburgh] gonna get them 10 points late in the game. They getting ready to boat race them, they gonna run through the Steelers. It’ll probably be 35-0 at some point. Or one of them, 28-0-type games, 27-0.”
Pittsburgh has lost its last four playoff games and is now going up against a red-hot Bills team that has won five games in a row on the way to winning the AFC East. The Steelers, though, are also on their own win streak of three games thanks to the strong play of QB Mason Rudolph and running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren.
The Steelers are the big underdog in the game, and with the game now moved to Monday to avoid the bad weather, the Steelers chances to win have gotten worse. However, with Rudolph at quarterback, the Steelers’ passing game has improved, and even with improved weather their run game can still be dominant just like it has been the past few weeks. If this can continue, it will be hard for Buffalo to “boat race” the Steelers.
With the time change, Pittsburgh’s biggest obstacle is stopping Bills QB Josh Allen. If Allen plays his best — and he is capable of elite performances — Buffalo can get out to a big lead. The Steelers will need to control the ball and keep it close, even if the weather will be slightly better than originally expected. It’s the Steelers’ key to victory and if they do so, they have a chance at pulling off the upset.
At the time Johnson predicted the blowout, it sounded outrageous given the projected weather conditions. Now that the game has been moved to Monday it may have some more credence to it. Last time these two teams played was last year and Buffalo won 38-3. This is the playoffs, and the teams are very different, but that big loss is still fresh in the mind of every Steeler fan.
Anything can happen come game time, but the Steelers will sure hope to avoid losing their fifth straight playoff game, especially in a fashion that Johnson predicts.
