While the Pittsburgh Steelers let the Philadelphia Eagles double them up last Sunday, former QB Ben Roethlisberger isn’t too concerned—he’s more worried about the Buffalo Bills. There’s no shame in losing to a very good team, which the Eagles are. But Roethlisberger doesn’t see similar threats as abundantly in the Steelers’ conference.
“I don’t feel as bad about losing this game as maybe other people do”, Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast. “This was a really good football team that we played, maybe the best in the NFL”. He praised the Eagles’ defense, noting he wanted to see how the Steelers’ offense fared.
The Steelers didn’t exactly pass any kind of test against the Eagles, but they won’t have to see Philadelphia again unless they play in the Super Bowl. A team they are more likely to see before then is the Buffalo Bills.
“The good news is, [the Steelers] wouldn’t have to play that [Eagles] team, or the Lions, until the Super Bowl. There’s only one team I fear on our side, and that’s [the] Buffalo [Bills]”, Roethlisberger said. That’s a slight upgrade over a couple of months ago when he also had them behind the Ravens.
The Bills are 11-3 on the season, the second-best mark in the AFC behind the Kansas City Chiefs. While they are only one game up on the Steelers, they also have more quality wins. For starters, they have beaten the Detroit Lions and Kanas City Chiefs. Combined, those two teams have only one loss to teams other than the Bills.
Still, the Bills are beatable, with some arguably surprising losses to the Rams and Texans. The Ravens also dominated them earlier this season, posting a 35-10 margin. It was by far the largest margin they faced in a loss since 2021. And the Eagles handed the Steelers their largest margin on a loss of the season, even if that was just 14 points. Most teams would sign up for that in the spring.
While the Steelers don’t have to worry about the Eagles again for a while, they do have a tough schedule. Up next are the Ravens, followed by the Chiefs. They don’t play the Bills in the regular season, but they could see them in the playoffs.
You might remember that the Bills eliminated the Steelers from the playoffs last season. With Mason Rudolph starting—and now starting for the Titans—the Steelers only managed 17 points to the Bills’ 31. This continued a string of blowout losses the Steelers have faced in postseason play.
Prior to the Eagles game, many were talking about the Steelers as Super Bowl contenders. That talk is waning this week, but they can strengthen their case in the next seven days. Wins over the Ravens and Chiefs would certainly let the Bills know the Steelers are a team to worry about. But that’s easier said than done.
