Predictions for the Pittsburgh Steelers Matchup with the Buffalo Bills

It only seems fitting that in a season where Nick Foles throws seven touchdowns in a game and the Kansas City Chiefs quadruple last year’s win total in half a season that the Steelers would suffer through one of the most catastrophic seasons in recent memory.

The perennial Super Bowl contenders entered this season with ambitions of returning to the big game, but those aspirations seem like little more than a distant memory at this point. The Steelers have faced a high rate of turnover over the past few seasons, losing stalwarts like Hines Ward, James Farrior, Casey Hampton and James Harrison.

Coupled with that, they showed talented young players like Mike Wallace and Keenan Lewis the door when they were looking for a big payday.

However, this is a team that still has the talent to compete on a weekly basis so long as it stops shooting itself in the foot. This much was proven when the Steelers hung with the New England Patriots through three quarters last Sunday.

Nonetheless, this team has a knack for committing untimely turnovers, critical penalties and inexcusable drops just when its opponent couldn’t use it more.

With many on the team playing for their NFL livelihood at this point, all Steelers fans can hope for is that this week against the Bills is where pride kicks in and the Steelers perform to their pedigree. Read on to see the predictions for the Steelers' upcoming matchup.

All statistics were retrieved from ESPN. 

Another Big Day for Big Ben

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Prior to the Steelers defense forgetting that football games are four quarters long last Sunday, the main talking point to come from the Steelers-Patriots game was Ben Roethlisberger matching Tom Brady blow for blow throughout the game.

In spite of facing constant pressure (Roethlisberger was sacked five times in the contest), he managed to hit 400 yards passing and throw for four touchdowns in the eventual 55-31 loss.

This week, Roethlisberger won’t be a facing a Patriot’s defense which has allowed the third-lowest passer rating (74.2) this season. Instead, he’ll be facing a much more middle-of-the-road (16th in opponent’s passer rating) Bills outfit which has allowed a league-leading 20 touchdown passes.

I expect Roethlisberger to throw for at least 300 yards and three touchdowns against the Bills, accounting for most of the team’s offensive production. Nevertheless, this production won’t come easily for the two-time Super Bowl winner.

Buffalo Defense Brings the Heat

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The Steelers offensive line has been ransacked by injuries this season, and in turn, their franchise signal-caller is on pace to be sacked an alarming 62 times. In fact, Roethlisberger’s taken exactly five sacks in half of his team’s games thus far.

Even though David DeCastro practiced fully this week, his potential return is unlikely to inspire a turnaround for a unit that’s been so lackluster.

I predict Roethlisberger will hit the deck another five times in his team’s home tilt with Buffalo, three of which will come at the hands of Mario Williams.

Roethlisberger, who’s already responsible for 14 turnovers this season, will tack another onto his total this Sunday when Williams comes up with a strip sack.

Run Games Headed in Opposite Directions

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The Steelers have struggled immensely to get anything going on the ground this season, as evidenced by leading rusher Le’Veon Bell’s meager 282 yards. Meanwhile, the Bills have relied heavily on a dual-threat rushing attack, which boasts two rushers who’ve bested Bell’s mark.

Leading rusher Fred Jackson has returned from last season’s injury-riddled campaign to tie his career high with six rushing touchdowns.

Coupled with Jackson’s resurgence is the continued emergence of Clemson product C.J. Spiller. Spiller proved his big-play capability by busting a 61-yard rush against the Chiefs last weekend. In fact, the Bills out-gained the Chiefs on the ground 241-95 in that matchup.

While that kind of rushing production is an anomaly in the parity-driven NFL, one can safely expect a large discrepancy in rushing yards in favor of the Bills again this weekend.

Tough Sledding for Manuel in Return

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While little has been normal for the Steelers in 2013, there have been some constants that have yet to be debunked. The team still fields a top-five passing defense, and Dick LeBeau still possesses an unrivaled ability to confound rookie quarterbacks.

LeBeau's record against rookie signal-callers sits at a sterling 16-2, the most recent of which came in the team’s Week 6 matchup with the Jets and Geno Smith. The Steelers got after Smith in that contest, recording three sacks and forcing him into two poorly thrown interceptions, the first two takeaways for the Steelers this season.

What’s on slate for Manuel this weekend is a Steelers defense which has to be seething after the shellacking they received at the hands of Tom Brady. While the steel curtain, angry or otherwise, admittedly isn’t the threat they’ve been in years past, neither is Manuel suddenly going to morph into Tom Brady.

I expect LaMarr Woodley and Co. to get after Manuel to the tune of three sacks and force at least one ill-advised throw in the direction of Troy Polamalu.

Final Prediction

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After analyzing the matchups, it appears as though these two teams are pretty evenly matched. Each team’s weaknesses will serve to accentuate the other's strengths, however few and far between they might be. This matchup should come down to a few pivotal plays, and I anticipate that, for once this season, the Steelers will manage to make a few more of them than their opponent.

Final Score: Steelers 27, Bills 21