The Bills will face a mostly unknown commodity at quarterback on Sunday against Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Devlin Hodges.
The all-time leader in passing yards in the FCS level of college football, Hodges played for Samford University in Alabama before suited up for the black and gold this season. He signed with the Steelers as an undrafted rookie free agent following the 2019 NFL draft.
That hasn’t stopped the Kimberly, Ala., native from starting his career with a surprising 3-0 record, though. But this week in the Bills he faces something he hasn’t often faced down south. The cold.
The longterm weather forecast shows a high of 37 and a low of 26 on Sunday so look for the temps to fall somewhere in between.
Playing off his nickname this week, which is “Duck,” the quarterback downplayed the idea of playing in the winter weather up north.
“We’ve had some cold days back home, obviously a little different. Just something to adjust to,” Hodges said. “Usually ducks like it when it’s a little colder anyway, so sounds good.”
But on a more serious note, Hodges knows the real test he’ll face this week is in the Bills defense. Currently the No. 4 defense in the league just behind the Bills, Hodges did defeat the Chargers earlier this year. But he wasn’t overly impressive as he only had 132 passing yards and his touchdown pass was a dump off to running back James Conners which he took 20-plus yards for a score. Having said that, the Bills themselves will respect Hodges’ abilities, but like he said, he’s doing the same for Buffalo’s defense.
“[Buffalo’s defense is] just a solid group. They’ve got really good players just all around, I don’t know if there’s anything they do that’s special, they’re just one of those solid, solid defenses that comes each and every week,” Hodges said.
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