Tag: Steelers vs Bills

Steelers vs Bills: JuJu Smith-Schuster highlights inactives

James Conner is active and will play Sunday night.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will finally get running back James Conner back for their Sunday night game against the Buffalo Bills. Conner has missed all or part of the last six games but his shoulder injury appears to be well enough to give it a go this week.

Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is inactive and will miss his fourth straight game. The Steelers will also be without tight end Vance McDonald who remains in the concussion protocol. In his place, rookie Zach Gentry gets a helmet. Additionally, cornerback Artie Burns is once again a healthy scratch in favor of rookie Justin Layne and his days appear to be numbered.

In a surprise move the Steelers deactivated defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs. The Bills are one of the best rushing teams in the NFL so you would have thought the Steelers would have wanted as many big bodies up front as possible to rotate in. Instead, the Steelers keep running back Trey Edmunds actives which creates a logjam at running back instead.

[vertical-gallery id=456091]

[lawrence-related id=456199]

NFL Week 15: Who are the Steelers rooting for this week?

Here’s your weekly Steelers rooting guide.

It’s Week 15 of the NFL regular season and the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to control their own destiny to make the playoffs. Sitting at 8-5, Pittsburgh is the No. 6 seed with several teams nipping at their heels, waiting for Pittsburgh to slip up.

But there’s a bigger picture here as well. If the Baltimore Ravens can lock up the No. 1 overall seed before they face the Steelers in Week 17, there’s a chance they will rest quarterback Lamar Jackson. This would be great for the Steelers if they have to win that final game.

Here’s our Week 15 rooting guide.

Texans vs Titans-The most serious threat to the Steelers are the Tennessee Titans. They are playing great football and get division foe Houston at home. We want to see the Texans pull off the win here to keep the Titans division record down.

Patriots vs Bengals-This one might be wishful thinking but it would be great if Cincinnati could pull off the upset here. A loss by the Patriots gets the Ravens closer to locking up that No. 1 overall seed.

Broncos vs Chiefs-This is another game with top seeding ramifications. We want Denver and their new starting quarterback Drew Lock to trip up the Chiefs and give Baltimore a little more breathing room.

Browns vs Cardinals-We know Cleveland is only 6-7 but anything can happen. Plus we always like rooting against the Browns.

Also, the Oakland Raiders play the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Indianapolis Colts take on the New Orleans Saints. If the Raiders and Colts lose it gives the Steelers a little more breathing room in case they trip up against the Bills.

[vertical-gallery id=456091]

[lawrence-related id=456199]

Report: Steelers RB James Conner expected to play vs Bills

James Conner looks like he’s playing on Sunday night.

According to NFL reporter Ian Rapoport, Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner is expected to play Sunday night against the Buffalo Bills despite being listed as questionable.

Conner has missed five of the last six games with a shoulder injury that just won’t seem to go away. If Conner plays this week, look for him to be on a serious pitch could. Pittsburgh has established a solid three-man running back rotation with Benny Snell Jr., Jaylen Samuels and Kerrith Whyte.

Anything Conner can add to this would be great against Buffalo but head coach Mike Tomlin finally understands the concept of running back by committee and how it can work.

Additionally, if Conner dresses, it’s likely Trey Edmunds would not. This means all the talk about three brothers playing in the same game would be lost.

[vertical-gallery id=456091]

[lawrence-related id=456199]

Steelers vs Bills: 3 keys to victory

Winning this week starts with stopping the run.

Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Sunday night is going to be a huge AFC showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills. Both teams are fighting for playoff position and are eerily similar in how they’ve turned in such big seasons. The Bills can secure a playoff spot with a win but the Steelers are a tough out at home in prime time.

Here are our three keys to victory.

Stop the run

Buffalo has the No. 5 rushing offense in the NFL. Between Devin Singletary, Frank Gore and Josh Allen, you never know where the run game is going to come from. Allen doesn’t want to have to throw the football so that’s exactly what the Steelers must force him to do. This will be a huge test for just how physical the Steelers defensive front can be.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Behind enemy lines: 5 questions with Bills Wire

We get the inside scoop on this week’s opponent.

Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

It’s time once again to go behind enemy lines and get the inside scoop on this week’s Pittsburgh Steelers opponent. We talk to our friends at Bills Wire and they offered some insight into how the Bills have been able to go 9-4 to this point and how he thinks they match up with the Steelers.

1-What do you attribute the improvement of Josh Allen to?

Of course we’re not behind closed doors, but it seems like Allen really put the work in this offseason. Where he really needed to improve is his accuracy. He was a 52 percent passer last season and he’s been around and most above 60 percent most of this year. His deep ball is still a struggle, though. The Bills could have pulled off an upset of the Ravens if Allen connected on a few early deep balls last week. He had guys, missed them, and he knows it. But all the other passes Allen’s hit consistently this year. This dual-threat ability with his legs is also impressive. He doesn’t get the Lamar attention because it’s not as sexy, but you can count on 3-4 drives being extended on Sunday because of Allen’s legs.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5

Steelers vs Bills final game status report

Several Steelers’ starters are out this week against the Bills.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had their all-important Friday practice, which is the workout that generates the team’s game status report. Several starters were up in the air for this week’s game with the Buffalo Bills and for them, the news isn’t great.

Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and tight end Vance McDonald have both been ruled out for Sunday night’s game. Smith-Schuster will miss his fourth game in a row as he continues to deal with a knee injury. McDonald suffered a concussion last week and remains in the protocol.

Running back James Conner is listed as questionable but we feel like this is just code for Conner not playing again. With Jaylen Samuels healthy there’s really no urgency to push Conner back onto to the field.

With McDonald out, it’s going to be up to Nick Vannett and Zach Gentry to fill out the tight end depth chart. Let’s be honest, no one was throwing to the tight ends before McDonald got hurt so that won’t change now.

[vertical-gallery id=456091]

[lawrence-related id=456179]

Report: Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster not expected to play vs Bills

It looks like no JuJu Smith-Schuster again this week.

It looks like it’s going to be another week without wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Smith-Schuster had returned to practice this week in preparation for the Buffalo Bills but according to ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter, Smith-Schuster aggravated his knee injury and isn’t expected to play Sunday night.

This entire has season has been a disappointment for Smith-Schuster. He was supposed to be the guy to replace Antonio Brown but things have not gone according to plan. He lost his quarterback in the second week of the season and failed to step up and elevate the play of those around him.

With Smith-Schuster looking to miss his fourth straight game it will once again be some combination of James Washington, Diontae Johnson and Deon Cain providing targets for Devlin Hodges.

[vertical-gallery id=456005]

[lawrence-related id=456169]

Steelers vs Bills practice report: Jaylen Samuels back to work

The Steelers are getting healthy this week.

Thursday’s Pittsburgh Steelers practice was eventful. The team saw the return of running back Jaylen Samuels as a full participant and tight end Vance McDonald returned but was limited. Samuels has been dealing with a groin injury but could play Sunday. McDonald is still in the concussion protocol so his availability is more up in the air.

Pittsburgh also saw another full participation day from running back James Conner. But keep in mind we saw this before as Conner continues to struggle with his shoulder injury. He came back too soon, re-injured it and has been out ever since. If I’m the Steelers coaches, I don’t count on Conner to be 100 percent.

One guy who was limited on Thursday was wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. He’s struggled to get back from his knee injury. Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner spoke after practice and seemed optimistic despite Smith-Schuster being limited.

“I hope so. He’s been giving great effort in trying to get back. I hope it for him,” Fichtner said. “I don’t think those determinations get made until later in the week, so I’m just excited about him being out here. He has all the enthusiasm and energy and want-to.”

The Steelers offense has taken strides since Devlin Hodges took over at quarterback. As much as we’d love to see Conner and Smith-Schuster back, there’s no need to rush when things are going well and both could be needed later on.

[vertical-gallery id=456091]

[lawrence-related id=456099]

Which member of the Bills do you want on the Steelers?

Cast your vote for which Buffalo player you want this week.

Every week we think about which member of the Pittsburgh Steelers opponent we’d like to poach for the week. This week we dug into the roster of the Buffalo Bills to see which guy we’d love to have for this week’s game. It’s tough because these two teams are mirror images of each other. Both teams have smothering defenses and both offenses struggle.

But here are our options for this week.

[polldaddy poll=10477099]

This one is wide open. Personally, put me down for one of those Bills interior defensive linemen. Jordan Phillips and Ed Oliver are a handful for any offensive line and with Stephon Tuitt out, I’d take either of those guys to fill in the spot.

Offensively I’m sure a lot of you will vote for QB Josh Allen. That’s fine but let’s not act like he’s having a huge season. As a former first-round pick he’s doing just enough to manage the Bills offense.

Cast your vote and tell us which member of the Bills you want on the Steelers this week.

[vertical-gallery id=456091]

[lawrence-related id=456130]

Steelers vs Bills tale of the tape: Comparing the positional units

Which roster is better? We decide.

This week we take a look at the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills a little differently. These are two teams who play very similar styles on both sides of the football and win with stout defense and efficient offense.

This time around we are going to break down the tale of the tape and talk about which team is better at each positional unit. And here’s a spoiler, most of these were very close. This game promises to be physical and close based on a deep dive into the rosters.

[vertical-gallery id=456091]

[lawrence-related id=456099]