The Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers face off on Sunday and the winner of this game will be in the first Wild Card position. The Bills clinch a playoff berth with a win, and while a victory for the Steelers won't guaranteed them a spot in the postseason, it would put them in prime position, so this might be one of the biggest games of the weekend.
It's going to be a tough game, but the Bills can get the job done on the road. Let's break down four reasons the Bills can defeat the Steelers and pick up their 10th win of the season.
4. Devin Singletary
Devin Singletary got off to a bit of a slow start to the season for the Bills, but that has changed the last few weeks. He is coming off a game against the Ravens where he rushed 17 times for 89 yards and if Josh Allen does struggle, they can lean on him.
Singletary has a lot of confidence and it's clear he is going to be the lead back for many years in Buffalo. Look for Singletary to have a big game, and be a big key for the Bills to win this game on the road.
3. Steelers don't blitz as much as the Baltimore Ravens
Josh Allen struggles against the blitz and that is a bad matchup against a Baltimore Ravens' defense that blitzes 53.9 percent of their defensive snaps.
The Pittsburgh Steelers still rank in the top 10 of blitzing, sitting at 35.3 percent. They might blitz a little more than their percentage, but there is no way they are going to blitz as much as the Ravens did. The Bills should also have a better game plan in this game if the team is blitzing a lot, which should lead to a much better game for Josh Allen.
2. Bills defense against Duck Hodges
Duck Hodges has been the talk with the Steelers and for good reason, he has played really good football since taking over the starting quarterback job. The good news for the Bills is that Hodges hasn't played a good defense yet, much less a great one.
The Bills' defense has been strong all season and they even played well in the last game against the Ravens and for the most part, they kept Lamar Jackson in check.
The Bills' defense is giving up only 191.5 yards per game, which is third in the NFL. Hodges isn't going to look as good as he did the first couple starts.
1. Steelers running game
The Steelers are expected to get James Conner back in this game, but he probably is going to be on a snap count. Without him, the Steelers have issues finding someone to take over the lead role and now face a defense that has also been good against the run.
With a rookie quarterback, it's usually important to lean on the running game and that is something the Steelers haven't been able to do.
It's going to be very hard for the Steelers to move the ball on offense and that is going to be a big key in this game for the Bills.
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