What should be taken into consideration when game planning for Josh Allen?
"Josh Allen is Josh Allen for a reason," Minkah Fitzpatrick said Thursday. "He has a cannon for an arm, he can make a lot of plays with his feet. Every time we play him it's always a challenge. He's a big guy, he can move, he has good feet. He's a competitor so he's always going to be making the extra effort. Unlike most quarterbacks that will see you coming and slide, he'll lower his shoulder and try to make you miss or pump fake or something like that. He's a great quarterback that presents a lot of challenges."
Allen has been successful against the Steelers in his career. Buffalo has beaten the Steelers in three of Allen's four starts, and Allen has completed 58% of his passes for 267.8 yards per game, eight touchdowns and three interceptions in those games. He has added 35.5 rushing yards per game and one rushing touchdown, so the Steelers have effectively allowed for Allen to account for 303.3 total yards per game.
That doesn't factor in the Bills' rushing output against the Steelers in Allen-led games. Regardless of that number, the Bills average 22.5 points per game against the Steelers when Allen starts, making Sunday's challenge at 1:02 p.m. in Orchard Park, N.Y. a gigantic one for Teryl Austin's defense.
"He does just about everything for them," Austin said before Thursday's practice at Acrisure Stadium. "He can run, he can throw, he can improvise. The biggest thing for us, I think like most people, you probably want to go into the game and you want to make sure that you try to keep him contained, not let him get outside the pocket where he can really make some damage and try to limit his explosives. You just go into the game with that and just have to keep plugging away knowing that he's a great player and he'll probably make a play or two, and we just can't let that snowball and you've got to fight back and make our plays when they're available."
T.J. Watt has been ruled out for Sunday's game, but the Steelers will have reinforcements on the back end with Fitzpatrick (knee) and Damontae Kazee (suspension) returning. Fitzpatrick said Thursday he will be playing, and the team wanted to make sure he was at "110 percent" before returning from his knee injury sustained Dec. 16 in Indianapolis. Fitzpatrick practiced in full Wednesday and Thursday.
The attention will also be turned to Nick Herbig and Markus Golden to fill in for Watt opposite Alex Highsmith.
Austin is more than confident in his depth options along the edge.
"We got those guys here for this reason in case we do lose one of those guys on the outside," Austin said. "We've been in this position, we were in this position last year and we weren't -- I don't think we were ready or had as much depth behind T.J. as we would like, but I think we have two solid guys this year. We all know they're all not going to be T.J. T.J. is a one-of-a-kind guy. We like the way their mental makeup (is) and the way they play, their temperament, and all of those things. They'll give us some positive there."
The Bills' offense extends beyond Allen's play-making ability. This offense was fourth in the NFL in yards per game (374.5) and sixth in points per game (26.5) in the regular season. Allen was fourth in the league in passing yards and tied for fifth in passing touchdowns.
That's enough to contend with, but Buffalo's 130.1 rushing yards per game were seventh in the NFL. James Cook was the NFL's fourth-leading rusher at 1,122 yards and Allen's 15 rushing touchdowns tied for second-most in the league behind the Dolphins' Raheem Mostert's 18. The Bills also added Super Bowl champion Leonard Fournette in October, and he has been ramped up for work this late in the season.
But, as Mike Tomlin said Tuesday, it all starts with Allen.
"If you're talking about slowing them down offensively, man, you start first and foremost with Josh Allen, who is just an incredible competitor," Tomlin said. "They utilize his talents and his competitive spirit very well. That can be displayed by their designed run game in weighty moments, possession down, and red zone situational moments. He's got 15 rushing touchdowns on the season. Boy, that is something to deal with. And so, it's challenging, the mathematic or the schematic component of quarterback mobility, particularly from a design run standpoint, is really challenging. Especially, when you have the passing talents that he has and the arsenal of people to spread the ball around to.
"At running back, they've got really good, quality depth. Cook is a 1,000-yard rusher. Fournette has bought a little thunder to that lightning in recent weeks. We'll have our hands full working to try to minimize the things that they do in the run game with their collection of backs and Cook being foremost in that."
Buffalo's five-game winning streak following their Week 13 bye included wins over playoff teams Kansas City (20-17), Dallas (31-10), and Miami (21-14). In the win over the Cowboys, Cook rushed for 179 of the Bills' 266 yards. In the win over the Dolphins, Allen threw for 359 yards.
Allen's ability to throw could be limited because of some predicted severe winds in the forecast, but that wouldn't be the first instance in which the Bills quarterback had to battle strict elements from playing 48 regular-season games and five postseason games at Orchard Park, N.Y's Highmark Stadium. The Bills could also be without Gabe Davis, who did not practice Wednesday or Thursday with a knee injury. Davis torched the Steelers for three catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns against the Steelers last year, including a 98-yard TD reception on the Bills' third play from scrimmage.
It is worth noting Watt did not play in that 2022 game, in which the Bills won, 38-3.
(Fun fact: If you look at Allen's Pro Football Reference profile, one of his nicknames, apparently, is "The Winter Soldier." This is a nickname given to him from an NFL Media social media person who uploaded this video of him rushing for a touchdown against the Broncos two seasons ago.)
So, the Bills are piping hot and the Steelers won't have the prospective Defensive Player of the Year on hand.
Ask Elandon Roberts about that.
"We are down the Defensive Player of the Year this week, in this game," Roberts said. "The Defensive Player of the Year. The Defensive Player of This Year should be -- quote me on that -- of the Year is out for this game, and I have full confidence in Markus Golden and Nick to do their job and do it very well. ... I cherish (the locker room) because I expect you, just like they expect me to be great with each opportunity we get out there."
