Winds whipped, freezing rain fluttered at a 45-degree angle and the Steelers trotted onto the field Wednesday afternoon at Acrisure Stadium to prepare for their toughest task of the season.
Among those men who donned their practice jersey, sweats and black helmet at the auxiliary practice site was Mason Rudolph, the feel-good story of the final month of the regular season throughout this organization and throughout some circles of the NFL. The offense has been clicking at its best with the veteran under center. It posted outputs of 30 and 34 points in his first two starts, and his third brought an 18-for-20 efficiency in completing passes in the win over the Ravens in Week 18.
That got the Steelers into the playoffs. After sputtering in the three games prior, the last three games to close the regular season brought a model of consistency sought from this offense.
And, it was achieved, in part, while playing in the sloppiest conditions the Steelers have faced this season. Just as it was in Balimore, Mother Nature is forecasted to be relatively unkind when the Steelers and Bills square off on Sunday, 1:02 p.m., in Orchard Park, N.Y., which could turn Rudolph's attention back to similar strategies employed in Baltimore.
Though he insisted much of targeting the short-game had to do with Baltimore's defense, the weather factored into it. It will be a factor again Sunday.
"We did take a couple shots, but I think it was more the defense that was being presented than the weather," Rudolph said after Wednesday's practice. "Yes, I mean, absolutely, the weather -- you're not going to huck it, you don't want to huck it 50 times in those conditions, but they really did play a lot of soft quarters, two-high zones that discourage the deeper concepts. So, each game I told myself I'm going to take what they give me, and I know we're running the ball well. Take shots when they present themselves but be smart and don't force anything."
The Week 18 split of posting just 17 points feels like an anomaly compared to the 32 averaged over the two games prior, but the weather conditions in Baltimore were unfavorable to any offense and a passing attack.
Whether it was intended or not, Rudolph combated this in the simplest way: By keeping his throws short and sweet. He attempted just three passes of 10 or more air yards, and the lone completion turned into his 71-yard touchdown to Diontae Johnson.
Here is his passing chart from Week 18, courtesy of NFL Next Gen Stats:
NFL Next Gen Stats
Everything targeted within 10 yards and behind the line of scrimmage was completed. He was a perfect 17-for-17 for 81 yards on such throws. Pat Freiermuth and Connor Heyward caught both of their targets, and Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren caught all five of their targets. The lone incompletions in total came on passes targeted deep to Johnson and Allen Robinson.
And, Rudolph got help from the running game. Harris toted the ball 26 times for 112 yards and a touchdown, while Warren tacked on 33 yards on nine carries. Harris and Warren added 21 and 17 receiving yards, respectively.
"It opened up the whole play book," Freiermuth said. "To be able to move the ball around effectively, especially in that weather, was awesome, and it helps a lot."
Tomlin did not want to "disrupt the apple cart" by changing quarterbacks at this stage. Over the Steelers' three wins to close the regular season, Rudolph completed 53 of 71 passes (74.6%) for 716 yards (238.7 per game), three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked just five times, though he took three Saturday in Baltimore.
But, the sloppy weather conditions caused some ball-security issues early in the game. Rudolph was charged with three fumbles in the game, and two came particularly early when the teams were trying to find their grips on the ball. Rudolph would transition into two-handed hand-offs and that helped mitigate some of the issues with slippery conditions.
Rudolph considered the Bills' defense a "ball-searching culture," and ball security will be imperative Sunday when combined with the conditions.
"I think, just like last week, there's things that we adjusted (to)," Rudolph said. "It's good to get work like we did today. Weren't great conditions either so you kind of prepare ourself. We know it'll be tough weather conditions but I think that's one of the many pluses of playing in Pittsburgh. We start to get adjusted to that in October. We know it's quite a tough place to play."
The forecast for Sunday's kickoff is just as brutal as the conditions experienced in Baltimore. The Buffalo area is expected to experience winds sustaining 26 mph. with gusts achieving 52 mph around kickoff. The temperature is expected to be in the low-20s with a wind chill in the single digits. A chance of light snow is expected during the game, but the real handicapping for the passing game -- and for special teams -- will be the wind.
"As long as the conditions are the same for both teams, I'm not overly concerned about it," Tomlin said after Wednesday's practice.
The Steelers practiced at Acrisure Stadium Wednesday, though Tomlin stressed afterwards that was for "footing" reasons.
"Thought we had good work today," Tomlin said. "Wanted to get over to the stadium because we wanted to work in the elements. Wanted the outside conditions, and the stadium was available to us. Had a good work day."
Buffalo's stadium is a low-bowl shape, which makes it easy for wind gusts to penetrate. An analysis piece run by Sharp Football shows the rugged impacts of playing in such wind, using the Bills' game against the Patriots in 2021 when the winds were blowing at 26 mph and gusts reached 36 mph at the 8:15 p.m. kickoff.
In that 14-10 win for the Patriots, Mac Jones attempted just three passes, and Josh Allen was able to complete half of his 30 attempts for 145 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots got a 64-yard touchdown run from Damien Harris in the first quarter and Buffalo benefited from a 14-yard touchdown reception from Gabe Davis. New England posted 241 yards of offense, while Buffalo had 230. New England got field goals of 41 and 34 yards from Nick Folk while Tyler Bass put a 35-yard kick through for the Bills, but those kicks came in the fourth quarter when the winds subsided to about 17 mph.
Given Sunday's game will occur in the afternoon, there is less of a likelihood that winds will die down at the same or a similar rate. That will also factor in the frigid wind chill.
"You just try to play the best you can," George Pickens said of the elements. "We play in Pittsburgh. I mean, I don't know if that's cold to anybody, but I feel like we're having a lot of high winds, as well. I just say we play the best we can. ... Pittsburgh's cold, Buffalo's cold, New York's cold. You see what I mean? I just feel like we're going to have to play the best we can."
