Getty Micah Hyde and the Bills defense celebrates after an interception against the San Francisco 49ers.
As Ben Roethlisberger has gotten older, the Pittsburgh Steelers passing offense has gotten quicker. Their 38-year-old quarterback isn’t what he once was. He doesn’t have the unique ability to scramble and extend plays anymore as he battles with father time, but his coaching staff has adjusted to best fit his game.
That means quicker passes, shorter routes, and with the lack of a running game this year, the Steelers have morphed their passing game into their running game. Roethlisberger has attempted at least 30 passes in 11 of Pittsburgh’s 12 games this season and has attempted more than 40 passes in seven of those games.
The Steelers have relied on Roethlisberger’s arm but they’ve also relied on the quickness of it. Heading into Week 14, Roethlisberger has had the quickest draw in the NFL, as he’s averaged 2.29 seconds between the snap and throw this season, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
Roethlisberger’s passes are also quick and short with 72.1 of his passes being 10 air yards or less, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. This, should all play into the hands of the Buffalo Bills defense when the two teams meet on Sunday Night Football in Buffalo as NFL’s Next Gen Stats has the Bills defense ranked in the top five against throws less than 10 yards.
According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the Bills have also only allowed a 73.3% completion percentage and a 15.2% tight window completion rate against passes that are 10 air yards or less.
So, those quick and short passes play right into the Bills’ hands, which should bode well for the outcome of Sunday’s game.
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The Bills Defense is Returning to Form
In the past few weeks, the Bills defense has started to look like the one that finished last season as a top-five group.
In the past two weeks, the Bills have only allowed 162 rushing yards and have outscored their opponents 61-41. They’ve been keen on stopping the rushing game and forcing turnovers on the back end and when they’ve had success this season they’ve done just that.
When they limited the New York Jets to just 10 points and four total yards in the second half in Week 7, the Bills created two turnovers and limited the Jets to 100 yards on the ground and 91 through the air.
In Week 9, they forced a season-high four turnovers against the Seattle Seahawks to 57 rushing yards. It’s been a key to the Bills defense this year and they have forced the fourth-most turnovers in the NFL, which is something they are looking to continue to do as the season goes on.
When the Bills played Pittsburgh last season, they forced four turnovers and limited the Steelers to just 51 yards rushing on 3.6 yards per attempt.
The Bills Defense Matches Up Well With Pittsburgh
Football is all about matchups and when it comes to their matchup with the Steelers, the Bills defense matches up well.
With receivers like JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, James Washington, and tight end Eric Ebron on the other side the Steelers present a tough challenge.
Those matchups are going to start with cornerback Tre’Davious White, who is one of the top defensive backs in the NFL, will match up against any receiver against Pittsburgh. But with Levi Wallace, Josh Norman, and Taron Johnson all healthy the Bills have the quickness and speed to keep up. They also have great coverage linebackers in Tremaine Edmunds, A.J. Klein, and Matt Milano that can take away those short passing routes the Steelers have relied on.
On Sunday, the matchup will come down to Buffalo’s defense versus Pittsburgh’s offense and if the Bills can limit Roethlisberger’s production they’ll be in good shape against one of the NFL’s top teams.
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