By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Bills and Steelers faceoff in a Sunday Night Football contest with massive AFC playoff implications.
With both teams at 9-4 and 8-5, respectively, both also hold the two Wild Card spots in the conference.
The games, within this game, will make a load of difference across the NFL.
With that, here are five matchups to watch during Sunday’s Bills meeting with the Steelers:
WR John Brown vs. CB Joe Haden
Over the course of the last three games, the Bills haven’t gotten good production from John Brown. In the absence of their No. 1 wideout, slot target Cole Beasley has continually stepped up. In Brown’s last three games combined, he has eight catches for 91 yards. That’s not very good for a guy who was once leading the AFC in receiving yards. The only thing that salvaged three games ago against the Broncos was a late touchdown.
On the outside, Brown will likely draw cornerback Joe Haden. The former Brown is Pro Football Focus’ 27th best corner in the NFL this season, via their grading system. The Steelers also have some impressive safeties over the top, namely Minkah Fitzpatrick, who has five interceptions, so getting Brown involved in this one might be difficult.
OL Cody Ford vs. EDGE TJ Watt
For three-straight games, rookie Cody Ford has taken all the snaps at right tackle with Ty Nsekhe sidelined with an ankle injury. It appears we’ll get four against the Steelers. But Ford has his biggest test to date in TJ Watt. With 12.5 sacks so far this season, Watt’s having a monster season. It runs in that family. Watt is also PFF’s best-overall edge defender in the entire NFL this season.
Ford did hold his own against Denver’s Von Miller three weeks ago. Miller is still very good, but Watt is even better and the Bills are going to be relying on their shaky-at-times rookie to shut Watt down.
CB Tre’Davious White vs. WR Diontae Johnson
According to reports on Friday, JuJu Smith-Schuster will not be returning to the lineup for the Steelers this week. Evidently he hurt his knee again in practice on Thursday. That means Diontae Johnson will lineup on the outside with James Washington on the inside. Those are the two targets filling in, and filling in well for the Steelers without Smith-Schuster.
Of course, Tre’Davious White will have the duties of shutting down Johnson on the outside then. White’s playing at a top-notch level and undrafted rookie quarterback Devlin Hodges is facing his biggest test as a pro in the Bills’ secondary. Johnson has 42 catches for 483 yards and four touchdowns so far this season.
DT Ed Oliver vs. C Maurkice Pouncey
In recent weeks, rookie defensive tackle Ed Oliver has been on fire. He had a little bit of a quiet game last week since Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is so elusive, but in the three games prior to that, Oliver had four sacks in those three. But last week he wasn’t bad, either. He did have five tackles.
With Oliver playing at such a high level after getting his starting spot back, there’s one player it appears Oliver, and fellow tackle Jordan Phillips, can look to exploit: center Maurkice Pouncey. We have 32 teams in the NFL. Pro Football Focus isn’t the end-all-be-all when it comes to their grades, but it’s not a good sign when a player is graded a 43.6 overall this season, good for the 36th best at his position, when he’s a starter. The Steelers’ offensive line has talent on the outside of it, but they’re weaker in the middle, starting with Pouncey.
LB Tremaine Edmunds vs. RB James Conner
While JuJu Smith-Schuster is on track to miss Sunday, running back James Conner is not. He’s missed time with a shoulder injury and he’s a talented back and has practiced all this week. While missing time, he still leads the Steelers with 390 rushing yards this year and finds running lanes well. The player tasked with closing those gaps will be the middle of Buffalo’s defense, namely Tremaine Edmunds.
Edmunds and Matt Milano have to prove Buffalo’s run defense is legit and fixed. Against the Cowboys, they were en route to looking bad, but then the Steelers just stopped giving Zeke Elliot the ball. Shut down Conners, and make an undrafted rookie quarterback beat your Pro Bowl secondary.