MDS's take: This is one of the biggest games of the year in the AFC playoff race, and I think Josh Allen is going to play well against a good Steelers Defense.
MDS's pick: Bills 27, Steelers 21.
Florio's take: Washington exposed Pittsburgh's imperfections; the Bills will exploit them.
Florio's pick: Bills 27, Steelers 23.
Based strictly on the eye test, Buffalo's playing better than Pittsburgh lately. The Bills have the better passing game in a pass-first league, and the defense has come around. They look ready to win a big game like this, while the Steelers look tired. But Pittsburgh's station-to-station offense matches up well against a Buffalo squad willing to give up short gains, and the Bills' offensive line worries me against top competition. This week qualifies.
Pittsburgh 24, Buffalo 21
This crew is usually pretty high on the Pittsburgh Steelers. They've picked them to cover in 10 of their 12 games this season, but the group agrees almost unanimously that the Buffalo Bills aren't getting enough respect as a mere 2.5-point home favorite over Pittsburgh on Sunday night.
"The Steelers have not played anywhere close to the level their record indicates as of late," Sobleski said. "Previously, Pittsburgh padded its schedule against the Cowboys, Bengals and Jaguars. Yet it struggled against a depleted Ravens club before falling to the inferior Washington Football Team. The Steelers have plenty of issues throughout their roster, and the Bills offense continues to pick opposing defenses apart because of a great scheme and Josh Allen playing at a near-MVP level. Three games in 12 days should severely tax the AFC North's top squad."
In other words, after not losing for nearly a calendar year, our experts have them losing twice in a seven-day span. And while that's a risky proposition, so would be betting against the Bills' fiery offense considering the state of Pittsburgh's injured D.
The Steelers' sloppy, one-dimensional offense has also struggled lately, with veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger posting a mere 84.2 passer rating in his last three starts. Dropped passes are a big factor there, but that's not always something that can be fixed overnight. On short rest against a talented defense that started slowly but has come on of late, Big Ben and Co. could be in trouble.
Davenport: Buffalo
Gagnon: Buffalo
Kahler: Buffalo
Miller: Pittsburgh
Sobleski: Buffalo
Tesfatsion: Pittsburgh
Score Prediction: Bills 24, Steelers 20
Earlier this week, people were openly wondering if the Steelers (11-1) could go undefeated. One not entirely shocking loss to Washington later, and Pittsburgh is an underdog against the Bills (9-3). The reasons, for the loss and the betting line, are injuries on defense, which are weakening the team's biggest strength, and a slumping offense.
Buffalo is coming off a big win over San Francisco, looking like a good bet to win the A.F.C. East and making people talk about quarterback Josh Allen as an emerging superstar. Unless Pittsburgh turns it around on both sides of the ball, it may go from 11 consecutive wins to two straight losses.
Pick: Bills
The Steelers get their toughest test yet in trying to stay undefeated in the conference through the regular season. The Bills will be pumped for a rare Sunday night home game to show just how good they are as a new, consistent AFC East power. But they also are coming off a short week with a little less offensive explosiveness than usual and a limited running game. The Steelers can have success running to facilitate Ben Roethlisberger's intermediate passing. Josh Allen will make the key mistakes while under pressure late.
Pick: Steelers win 27-20
Scroll through to see the team practice in Bills Stadium before this Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, presented by M&T Bank
December sunshine for Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Zack Moss (20). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Matt Milano (58). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Terry Pegula and Brandon Beane. Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Ed Oliver (91), Harrison Phillips (99), Justin Zimmer (61). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Devin Singletary (26). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Sean McDermott. Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Justin Zimmer (61). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Brandon Beane and Joe Schoen. Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Ed Oliver (91). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Micah Hyde (23). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Trey Adams (72). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Matt Barkley (5). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Terry Pegula and Brandon Beane. Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Matt Barkley (5). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Terry Pegula. Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Ed Oliver (91). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen and the offense. Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Sean McDermott and the offense. Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Matt Barkley (5). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17) and offensive line. Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Sean McDermott. Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Dawson Knox (88). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Jake Kumerow (87). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Ed Oliver (91). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Terry Pegula and Brandon Beane. Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Andre Roberts (18). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Andre Roberts (18). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Andre Roberts (18). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Brandin Bryant (74). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Harrison Phillips (99). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
\h90. Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Brian Winters (66). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tyrel Dodson (53). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
December sunshine for Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Mario Addison (97). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Mario Addison (97). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Tremaine Edmunds (49). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
Josh Allen (17). Buffalo Bills Week 14 practice at Bills Stadium, Friday December 11, 2020. Photo by Bill Wippert
