Bills solve blitz brigade
A week ago against the Baltimore Ravens, the Bills were undone by the Ravens’ relentless pass rush. Baltimore’s blitz-happy gameplan brought Josh Allen down six times and harassed him throughout the game. For the Bills to win in Pittsburgh, they would have to figure out a way to combat this against the league leader in sacks, the Steelers’ defense.
For the Bills offense, it was mission accomplished on Sunday night as they held the Pittsburgh pass rush at bay in their 17-10 victory at Heinz Field.
The sack-happy Steelers got to Josh Allen just once on Sunday night, a shared sack by T.J. Watt and Vince Williams that came in the first quarter. Other than that, the Steelers did not to get to Allen. While the Bills offense struggled for most of the night, keeping Allen off the turf was a major reason why the Bills won.
The turnaround for the offense was a major credit to a number of different individuals. The Bills’ starting offensive line of Dion Dawkins, Quinton Spain, Mitch Morse, Jon Feliciano, and Cody Ford did yeoman’s work containing the Steelers’ defensive line. Allen was largely not hurried throughout the game and had time to stand in and make throws, especially on the touchdown to Tyler Kroft. Allen also did a much better job getting the ball out quickly. Against Baltimore, Allen often held onto the ball way too long in the pocket. He also had a couple instances where he panicked and ran into a sack instead of stepping up into the pocket. Allen improved in that area on Sunday.
Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll also deserves some credit for drawing up a gameplan that called for quicker throws from Allen. He also used Lee Smith as a second tight end more than he had since early in the season. Smith provided an extra presence on the offensive line to help contain the pass rush. Daboll also dialed up the throws that worked on the touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. On the first play of the drive, Daboll called a deep throw to John Brown down the left sideline that was caught for a 40-yard gain. It was the perfect time to take a deep shot and Allen and Brown delivered. Daboll also had confidence in his quarterback to let him take a shot into the end zone on third down in the red zone with the score tied.
The Billsfixed a huge issue that plagued them against Baltimore. They’ll be tested again on Saturday against a New England team that frustrated the Bills with their pass rush in Week 4.