The Pittsburgh Steelers enter this Sunday’s AFC Wild-Card Playoff Game in Buffalo on a three-game postseason losing streak. Losses at Kansas City and at home to Cleveland and Jacksonville have seen the Steelers give up 42, 48 and 45 points respectively leading many to wonder if the same fate doesn’t await them in Western New York.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin made two things that were already pretty obvious fully concrete today. Mason Rudolph will start at quarterback and T.J. Watt will not play due to his knee injury. With the unit already down two inside linebackers and a couple of safeties, the task facing Teryl Austin is a tall one.
The Steelers enter this one against the Bills knowing that they are 1-10 all-time when Watt doesn’t play. Austin will be forced to use a three-man rotation with Watt on the sidelines. Alex Highsmith, Markus Golden and rookie Nick Herbig will be tasked with not only getting after Josh Allen but they’ll be required to set the edge and keep the Bills’ improving running game from getting outside. Highsmith and Golden can be competent here but they can’t go without a breather which means Herbig needs to come up big. We know what he can do as a pass rusher but the biggest question is… Can he anchor down and stop the run?
Last week we saw Austin willing to use the blitz a bit more than he has throughout most of the season. That could and probably should be a sign of things to come this week. Mark Robinson, who is most notably a run stuffer, picked up a sack as he came untouched on a blitz. That’s probably going to have to happen again this week.
Tomlin didn’t sound overly optimistic when discussing Minkah Fitzpatrick and Trenton Thompson. Both have missed multiple games which has forced a ‘musical chairs’ of sorts on the back end. Eric Rowe literally came off his couch to give the Steelers depth and has played better than anyone could have expected while Patrick Peterson made the switch to free safety giving that part of the defense some veteran leadership. Damontae Kazee, who was suspended for the final three games of the regular season for his unsportsmanlike hits, should return. What kind of shape he’s in will be a fair question but as thin as the team is here I would be stunned if he didn’t play.
In order for the Steelers and their patchwork unit to avoid another 40-point playoff nightmare, they’ll need to be disciplined, tackle well and create turnovers. Much easier said than done. If the offense can help out by possessing the ball, burning clock and scoring then the pressure on the defense is lessened.
It all sounds like it will take a monumental and almost perfect type of effort to pull this off doesn’t it? Well, that’s playoff football. The Steelers defense wants desperately to halt this postseason losing streak and leave Buffalo with a win.
Trust me, we want it too.
