Aside from two solid home wins, the Pittsburgh Steelers have played a largely unattractive brand of football over the past month and a half. It’s so unattractive to analyst Conor Orr, that he’s simply tired of watching them play and hopes the Buffalo Bills “steamroll” them Sunday.
“I’m sick of Pittsburgh. I’ve launched them into the sun on my latest power rankings. But mostly out of frustration, I don’t like the way it looks. I don’t enjoy watching them,” Orr said Wednesday on the Heed The Call podcast. “And I think this is the perfect opportunity for Josh Allen to come out and just steamroll these guys. I hope he does.”
It’s a massive game for both teams. While each is very much alive in its division, neither is in the lead. And the Bills are currently one game ahead of the Steelers in the AFC Wild Card race. If the Steelers lose this game, they’d be two behind the Bills, who also hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Steelers would also be at least one game out of the playoffs still. But if the Steelers win, they’d overtake Buffalo via tiebreaker, and the Bills could slide even further down the board.
Yet it’s a game in which most seem to favor the Bills. While they’ve been inconsistent, so have the Steelers. And it’s hard to bet against Josh Allen, who’s backed by a terrific rushing attack led by James Cook, the NFL’s second-leading rusher.
But the Bills are beatable. Their impressive win against Tampa Bay two weeks ago is bookended by two disappointing losses against Miami and the Davis Mills-led Houston Texans. They’re a lot like the Steelers in the sense that you never really know which version of them you’re going to see.
That said, their ceiling is higher than what the Steelers can hope for. When the Steelers aren’t dominating the turnover battle, they’ve struggled to be consistent defensively. Offensively, the rushing attack works at times, but OC Arthur Smith’s usage of it has been odd. And with DK Metcalf underperforming, the receiving corps has been lackluster. Finally, starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers is still dealing with a wrist injury and may not play Sunday.
Losing four of their last six, it’s hard to feel confident in the Steelers right now. But with games against the Buffalo and Baltimore the next two weeks, the time is now for the Steelers to get back on track. If Orr is right and the Bills steamroll the Steelers, it could be another nail in the coffin of their 2025 season.
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