There are six games remaining in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2025 season, three of which will be played in Pittsburgh, while the other half of the games will see Pittsburgh hit the road. It begins in Week 13 of the season with the Buffalo Bills coming to Acrisure Stadium. This game should take the form of a playoff game for both teams, as Pittsburgh and Buffalo are not only fighting for a chance at the playoffs, but could possibly win their respective divisions.
For which team is a victory the most important? Certainly, this question should be aimed more at the Steelers. Currently tied with the Baltimore Ravens for first place, Pittsburgh has an extremely crucial game in Baltimore following the Bills game. Buffalo finds itself two full games behind the first-place New England Patriots and, as New England has played, it’s unlikely the Bills can catch or surpass them for a division title.
Even though the Bills have been much more consistent than Pittsburgh, the Steelers have yet to find their true identity and the season is almost over. Aaron Rodgers is questionable for this game, still deciding if his wrist is healed enough to play and against a team like the Bills, I’m sure no Steelers fan is comfortable with Mason Rudolph leading the offense to be productive against a very tested defense.
While head coach Mike Tomlin is being criticized for the way this season has gone, he, general manager Omar Khan and Steelers president Art Rooney II are all guilty of going all-in this season with new faces on defense and doing everything they can to get Aaron Rodgers under contract. All this in hopes that the Steelers would return to the playoffs and win a postseason game.
This hope from the front office and Tomlin seems to be dwindling and fading quickly. One week the offense is the problem and the next week the defense. In 11 games, we have yet to see a truly complete 60-minute game on both sides of the ball. Last week, in losing to the Bears, the offense and Rudolph did enough to keep the team in the game, but the secondary faltered when it was needed most. For me, it comes down to coaching.
Now the 7-4 Bills come to the ‘Burgh after beating the Steelers and the same Mason Rudolph in the wild card round of the 2023 season. This after Kenny Pickett was benched and Rudolph won several regular season games, bringing Pittsburgh into the big dance. In the history between these two teams which began with a first match in 1970 in the old Trois-Rivières stadium which saw Pittsburgh win 23-10, there have been 30 matches between these two teams, including four in the playoffs. In the playoffs, each team won two games.
Of the 30 games played, Pittsburgh won 17. I was at one of those games. While living in New York, a friend of mine accompanied me on an eight-hour trip to my hometown to watch the Bills/Steelers game on Monday Night Football on September 16, 1996. We were among 59,002 fans in attendance to see the Steelers demolish the Bills 24-6. I will never forget that evening at the Stade des Trois-Rivières when the crowd was making so much noise and stamping their feet so hard that the entire stadium literally rocked. It’s not a joke. I remember seeing some of the stands vibrate as if they were going to collapse.
Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly (also a Pittsburgh native) threw four interceptions that night and was sacked twice. Mike Tomczak was Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback with Kordell Stewart his backup. “Slash”, as he was called, threw several passes that night, ran with the ball several times, and caught three passes, including a 48-yarder, as he was the primary receiver that night. “The Bus” Jerome Bettis ran for 133 yards. Erric Pegram added 84 more.
Defensively, Levon Kirkland has two of those four interceptions, and Carnell Lake had another including a pick six. Jerry Olsavsky had the fourth. It’s a shame the current Steelers can’t have the players Bill Cowher had on defense back in the day: Levon Kirkland, Carnell Lake, Jerry Olsavsky, Chad Brown, Carlos Emmons, Rod Woodson, Darren Perry, Willie Williams, Joel Steed, Bill Johnson, Myron Bell, Deon Figures and Chris Oldham. Wow. They were awesome.
In these four playoff appearances between the Buffalo Bills and Steelers, the first playoff game took place in the 1974 season, when OJ Simpson was one of the best running backs in the NFL. The Steelers triumphed at Three Rivers Stadium, winning 32-14 and eliminating “The Juice” OJ Simpson. This video from a Steelers fan became famous before this game:
The next playoff meeting was in Buffalo in 1993, and the Bills returned the favor by winning 24-3. Prior to this 2024 meeting, Pittsburgh beat the Bills 40-21 in 1996. Out of 30 games played, this 40-12 playoff victory represents the most points the Steelers have ever scored against Buffalo. On four other occasions, Pittsburgh scored 30 points, including the 32-14 “Juice” game.
Buffalo only shut out the Steelers once in 1982, winning on their home field 13-0. Two other games saw the Steelers score just a field goal in that 1993 playoff game and then again in 2022, losing 38-3. As for the Bills, they beat the Steelers 52-34 on September 8, 1991 and exceeded 30 four times as Pittsburgh had done. The Steelers blanked Buffalo 23-0 in 1993 and 28-0 again in 1979. The Bills were also held to just three points, losing 20-3 and 26-3 in 2001 and 2007 respectively.
As for winning streaks in the series, the Steelers have won the first three meetings. They would also win four more in a row from 1993 to the 1996 season. However, from November 9, 1986 until the playoff defeat in 1993, Buffalo had won five in a row. Pittsburgh began another long winning streak that began on September 30, 2001 and lasted until its defeat on December 15, 2019, during which the Steelers won six straight games.
In the last five games, the Steelers have lost four. Pittsburgh’s last victory came on September 12, 2001, with a 23-16 victory. Now comes a game that could impact Pittsburgh’s fortunes for the rest of the season and possibly the future of the coaching staff and even some players.
When the Bills have the ball
Pittsburgh’s defense will have its hands full with Buffalo’s offense and Josh Allen. What they face is the third-most competent offense in the NFL, averaging 381.8 offensive yards per game through 11 games. Allen is passing at a rate of around 235 yards per game and running the ball for another 147 yards per game. Buffalo’s offense scores 28.3 points per game. Josh Allen, while still one of the best quarterbacks in the league, has been sacked 28 times, so that puts a strain on the Steelers defense.
For Allen, he threw just nine interceptions and threw 18 touchdowns. On the ground, James Cook already exceeds 1,000 yards with 1,084 and he has scored eight times. Josh Allen also rushed for 371 yards. Both men are over five yards per carry. Allen spreads the ball well through the air with 10 receivers passing for over 100 yards for the season led by Khalil Shakir with 564 yards. Tight end Dalton Kincaid leads all receivers with four touchdowns.
Pittsburgh’s defense is now ranked 28th in the league and knowing it can be exploited and passed on has Josh Allen probably licking his lips at what lies ahead.
When the Steelers have the ball
This could be another playing time decision as to whether Aaron Rodgers will play again or whether it will be Mason Rudolph once again. The Bills are first in pass defense, allowing just 168.2 yards per game, so this will be a challenge for either Steelers quarterback, but in my opinion, Aaron Rodgers would have more success attacking such a strong secondary given his experience and knowledge. Buffalo’s defense is allowing 148.9 yards per game, however, and the performance of the Steelers running backs should be Pittsburgh’s game plan for this matchup.
Note that the Steelers have a handful of players listed as questionable for this game: Alex Highsmith, Cameron Heyward, Joey Porter Jr., Ben Skowronek, DK Metcalf and Aaron Rodgers. Broderick will have Broderick Jones and Derrick Harmon both injured.
Intangible assets
The only advantage the Steelers might have here is that they’re playing at home. If this game had taken place in Buffalo, their chances of winning would have certainly diminished. That said, we will find out what the Steelers are made of when they have a very tough opponent in front of them and their backs are against the wall knowing that their division hopes could be on the line and possibly playoff chances. This is just one of many tough games coming up, including a trip to visit the Detroit Lions, two games against the Ravens, another game with the Browns and a tricky Miami Dolphins team.
Prediction
