NFL Week 10 Prediction: Buffalo Bills vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Image Courtesy of BuffaloBills.com

Buffalo Bills

• Record: 3-6
• Offense Passing: 28th
• Offense Rushing: 7th
• Defense Passing: 18th
• Defense Rushing: 17th

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Record: 2-6
• Offense Passing: 8th
• Offense Rushing: 28th
• Defense Passing: 4th
• Defense Rushing: 31st

Keys to the Game

Buffalo: Buffalo has gone through three different quarterbacks this season thus far, but this week they may get their starter EJ Manuel back. The Bills, and the fans, both hope he can come back, but that doesn’t guarantee a W. This week they face the Steelers who have done very well at defending the pass. So, instead of relying on their quarterback to throw it all the time, the team will have to rely on something else, the rushing attack. This is the best thing for the Bills, they need to rely on C.J. Spiller and Freddy Jackson once again. These two looked great last week against a tough Chiefs defense and it should be even easier this week as they face a god awful Pittsburgh run defense. The Bills need to use Spiller and Jackson 50+ times this week and they will win the game.

Pittsburgh: Home sweet home, yes the Steelers are glad to be back after a brutal beat down last week in Foxboro. This week the Steelers need to get back to basic Steeler football, the ground and pound. They have struggled all year to get the ground game going. The top two leading rushers are averaging 3.5 yards a carry, but they need to find a rushing attack. Le’Veon Bell and Felix Jones need to start to help the offense out. On the defensive side of the ball they have to stop the rushing attack. This season the Steelers are giving up an average of 131 rushing yards a game which is the good news. The bad news is they are going up against a team who averages 145 yards per game. The Steelers have to find a way to slow the rushing attack down.

What to Watch for

Buffalo: Whose going to play quarterback? We have seen EJ Manuel, Thad Lewis, and Jeff Tuel so far this year. All three will be practicing this week and it should be interesting to see who will be ready to play on Sunday. In addition to quarterback, I am going to be watching for dropped passes. Last week Buffalo wide receivers had six dropped passes and most of them were when the wide receiver was open. This is the NFL and if you want to win games or become a good team you can’t drop a pass when you’re wide open.

Pittsburgh: Is Le’Veon Bell ready to carry the load? Bell was the Steelers number two draft pick in the 2013 draft and is the Steelers number one running back. He has dealt with some injury problems but averaging a mere 3.5 yards a carry will not cut it. Bell needs to start shouldering the load and prove why he was a number two draft pick.

Prediction

Both teams are looking to stay alive and make a late playoff push. The Bills will need to rely on their rushing attack and their defensive front to beat the Steelers. The Steelers will need to rely on Big Ben to extend the plays like he always does and Le’Veon Bell to get the ground game going. This should be a great match up but after watching the Steelers get run over in Foxboro and the Bills hang tough with the Chiefs, I have to go with the Bills.

Final Score: Buffalo 27 Pittsburgh 17

Other Week 10 Predictions:
Washington Redskins vs. Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears