My final Pittsburgh Steelers pregame thoughts as the team hosts the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium.
1. HAVE TO GIVE AARON RODGERS SOME HELP
The Steelers quarterback sustained a left wrist fracture against the Cincinnati Bengals and sat out last Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Rodgers has been cleared to play and will make his return today. He has been seen wearing a brace on his left wrist to provide stability but seems to be gripping the ball with his left hand without a problem.
Rodgers gives the Steelers their best chance to win but the team needs to be smart with the veteran, who will turn 42 years old on Tuesday. A game plan that allows Rodgers to get the ball out quickly will be key. He should avoid heroic efforts that could end in him getting sacked. The entire offense needs to execute their roles in order to keep Rodgers safe and avoid aggravating his injury.
2. WHICH WRIST WILL BE MORE LIMITING?
Aaron Rodgers isn’t the only player dealing with a left wrist injury. Bills DL Joey Bosa has been playing through his own, sustained in the Week 9 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Bosa has been limited in practice at times over the past few weeks. He has also been less effective in games since then. accounting for four pressures on the opposing quarterback and no sacks over that time period.
Both Rodgers and Bosa will play today. Neither has an injury designation. How effective either player can be despite the injury will be a factor in the success or failure of the Steelers offense.
3. BRODERICK JONES WILL BE MISSED
Broderick Jones was the subject of considerable criticism in his first two seasons with the Steelers, and much of it was appropriate. The former first round draft pick was adequate filling in at right tackle as a rookie but struggled last year to even get on the field. He was unable to beat out Dan Moore Jr. for the starting role at left tackle and then got benched in his competition with then-rookie Troy Fautanu for the right tackle spot. Fautanu’s season-ending knee injury paved the way for Jones to start at right tackle for most of the 2024 season but it wasn’t fabulous.
Despite some up and down play in training camp and early in the season, Jones has settled into the starting left tackle role this year. Sure, he has had help, both from tight end Darnell Washington and fellow OL Spencer Anderson, playing as part of the team’s “jumbo” personnel package.
Jones has, however, shown significant improvement in his play. The Steelers offensive line, potentially a liability this year, has performed well.
Jones sustained a neck injury last Sunday and was moved to Reserve/Injured list yesterday. Veteran back up Andrus Peat will get the start in his place, which is definitely a downgrade in play. While fans and media had major questions regarding Jones protecting the blind side for Aaron Rodgers prior to the season, the narrative has changed. And for all the grief that Jones has weathered, he will definitely missed.
4. TWO TEAMS IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS
The Steelers and Bills are notably similar heading into this matchup. I’m not making the argument that each team’s strengths are equal. Bills QB Josh Allen is coming off a tremendous MVP season in 2024 and remains one of the top quarterbacks in the league. Rodgers was once that player but is now in the twilight of his career.
Beyond their signal callers, however, the comparisons are there. Both teams will be fighting for a wild card berth in the playoffs if they cannot win their respective divisions. The Bills are chasing the 10-2 New England Patriots. The Steelers will be lucky to maintain their slim lead over the Baltimore Ravens. A loss for either team could put them at serious risk to miss the playoffs altogether.
Both teams are coming off ugly losses and could easily consider this a must-win game to get their season back on track and salvage their chance to play in the post-season.
5. EXPLOIT THE ADVANTAGES
Yes, we have heard this story before. The Bills will be missing both starting tackles on the offensive line due to injury. This should be a fantastic opportunity for the Steelers pass rush to make Josh Allen’s day miserable, creating pressure and, ideally, turnovers. But it wouldn’t be the first time this season that type of situation has presented itself and the Steelers failed to capitalize. It just happened last week, as a matter of fact. The Bears were without three of their starting linebackers as well as their starting left tackle. It should have been a dominant day for the Steelers offense, even with backup QB Mason Rudolph getting the start. Instead, it was the Bears offense who ruled the day.
There is one other opportunity that is essentially a gift that Pittsburgh can’t afford to squander. Following last Sunday’s games, both the Steelers and the Ravens posted a 6-5 record due to a Steelers loss and a Ravens win. That gave the Ravens the top ranking in the AFC North based on NFL tiebreaker rules. On Thanksgiving, the Bengals beat the Ravens. If the Steelers win, they will regain the lead in the race for the division championship, a valuable edge as they head to Baltimore the following week.