Buffalo Bills vs. Pittsburgh Steelers 2020: Preview, odds, predictions for Week 14 - syracuse.com

Orchard Park, N.Y. — Just six days after the Buffalo Bills made a statement by winning for the first time in 21 years on Monday Night Football, they play again on primetime in a showdown between two of the AFC’s elite.

The Bills (9-3) host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football almost a year after Buffalo earned its 2019 playoff berth by beating the Steelers (11-1) in the same game in their stadium. It’s ironic to think back to backup quarterback Matt Barkley’s viral jacket-swinging rock session during the playing of “Renegade” by Styx inside Heinz Field last year. That’s the only type of hype available this time around since fans aren’t allowed to attend games in Bills Stadium.

The game itself has plenty of playoff implications. The Bills can inch closer to the no. 2-seed in the AFC with a win over Pittsburgh as they continue to hold the top position in the AFC East with the Miami Dolphins set to clash with the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen will get his first chance to play against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after plenty of folks have compared the 24-year-old Buffalo passer to “Big Ben” over the past few years. Roethlisberger was out last season and the Bills got to face Devlin Hodges in what was a low-scoring game in Pittsburgh. This time around, Buffalo brings the no. 3-ranked passing offense into the game and it’s going to need to be effective against the Steelers ultra good secondary.

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ESPN’s Matt Bowen recently published an article on ESPN+ and he ranked the Steelers’ secondary as the best unit in the league. They’re holding opposing quarterbacks to just a league-worst 33.0 QBR and they’re an attack-style defense that is blitzing 41.9% of the time. That secondary and pass rush is going to be missing some key pieces, though.

Bud Dupree had 8 sacks in 11 games before tearing his ACL in Week 12 and cornerback Joe Haden, who has two interceptions and 11 passes defended this season, will miss Sunday’s game as he’s in the league’s concussion protocol. Linebackers Robert Spillane (knee) and Vince Williams (Reserve/Covid) have also been ruled out.

The Steelers still have T.J. Watt, one of the best pure pass rushers in the NFL, and interior force Cam Heyward.

Allen struggled against the Steelers last season in a low-scoring game before ultimately throwing the game-winning touchdown to tight end Tyler Kroft. This time around, Pittsburgh is facing a third-year quarterback who has the third-best odds to win NFL MVP with four weeks to go in the regular season. Allen ranks sixth in the NFL with a 75.1 QBR. The Steelers have only played two quarterbacks in their 12 games that rank in the Top 10 in QBR: Deshaun Watson put up a 87.1 in Week 3 and Ryan Tannehill put up a 78.7.

The Bills are healthy on the offensive side of the ball outside of receiver John Brown, who’s still on injured reserve with a knee/ankle. He was out at practice this week working off to the side. Guard Jon Feliciano was limited in practice on Thursday with a knee/foot injury, but he was full on Friday and has no injury designation.

When the Steelers have the ball there are plenty of playmakers the Bills defense is going to have to be concerned with. Rookie Chase Claypool has been must-see TV this season and he joins a receiving corps with JuJu Smith Schuster, James Washington and Dionate Johnson. Pittsburgh’s pass catchers had a bad game last week in a 23-17 loss to the Washington Football Team. Roethlisberger had six passes dropped and that’s been one of the storylines making the rounds on Pittsburgh talk radio this week.

Roethlisberger took some of the responsibility, saying he needs to throw better passes. He also spoke about the Bills and the level of team the Steelers are up against on Sunday night.

“They’re a really good football team,” Roethlisberger said. “They are playing with a lot of confidence. They have an MVP caliber quarterback playing at that level. They have some defenders who are taking the ball away every time the ball is thrown their way. They’re just a really good football team. I think confidence has a lot to do with that.

“We are going to their place. Looks like crappy weather. Night game. Cold. All of the perfect elements that comes with playing playoff caliber football teams and playoff caliber situations this time of the year. This is a great test and challenge for us.”

The Steelers have been good on 3rd down this season, converting at a 45% clip. In their last three games, that percentage has dipped to around 40%. Buffalo’s ability to get off the field on 3rd down in recent weeks could be something that impacts this game.

Pittsburgh is expected to get back center Maurkice Pouncey and running back James Conner. Bills DC Leslie Frazier said that linebacker Matt Milano came through last week’s game healthy. He could get a larger role in this week’s game.

BILLS vs. STEELERS

Kickoff: 8:20 p.m. (ET) on Sunday at Bills Stadium

TV: NBC

RADIO: WGR 550 AM (Buffalo), WROC 950 AM (Rochester), WKTV 105.5 FM (Syracuse)

Line: Bills by 2 (Over/under at 48.5)

PREDICTIONS

MATT PARRINO: The Steelers have revenge on the mind as they look to get the Bills back for coming into their place last season and getting a big win. The problem is going to be that they are missing key pieces on their defense and they face one of the league’s best offenses. Josh Allen must protect the football but I like the Bills defense’s chances against Pittsburgh’s offense better than I like the Steelers’ chances against Stefon Diggs, Cole Beasley and company.

SCORE: Bills 21, Steelers 17

RYAN TALBOT: The Bills and Steelers are the showcase matchup of the week so it’s so surprise that the game will be played in prime time on Sunday Night Football. Both teams feature pass happy offenses and defenses with no shortage of playmakers.

Offensively, it will be interesting to see how Buffalo attacks Pittsburgh’s inside linebackers. The team is down to Avery Williamson and Marcus Allen as their starters. In addition to attacking the inside linebackers, Buffalo will look to throw outside the numbers to Stefon Diggs. Joe Haden, Pittsburgh’s top cornerback, will be out of action due to a concussion. T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick will make life difficult on Josh Allen and company, but the Bills should have some success moving the ball on Sunday night.

Defensively, Buffalo will have trouble getting to Ben Roethlisberger. He’s only been sacked 10 times this season as he gets the ball out quickly. The last time he’s been sacked was in early November. Instead of sacking Roethlisberger, Buffalo should focus on batting some of the QB’s passes. When Roethlisberger gets it to his phenomenal receivers, Buffalo needs to close quickly and tackle well. Pittsburgh has multiple playmakers, but drops have been an issue. Getting a turnover or two on balls that deflect off of Steelers receivers’ hands could be the difference in the game. James Conner could also be a factor out of the backfield. The team struggled without him in the lineup, but they may test the Bills’ run defense.

This game goes down to the wire and then some with this matchup going to overtime. Tyler Bass will play the hero as Buffalo knocks off the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

SCORE: Bills 27, Steelers 24 (OT)