Steelers 2013 Scouting Report Week Ten: Buffalo Bills

A week after a historical defeat in New England at the hand of Tom Brady and the Patriots, the Steelers are back at home for the first time since their win over the Ravens three weeks back to take on the 3-6 Buffalo Bills.

The Steelers have played very well in recent memory vs the Bills, winning 7 of 8 against them, and they are 12-8 vs the Bills overall.

Today we look a little deeper into Buffalo, and what to look for Sunday afternoon in what hopefully will be the Steelers third win of 2013.

1. Keep An Eye on Mario – The Bills paid a boat load of money last season for former Texans defensive end Mario Williams. After a sub-par season in 2012, he has been the best player on D this season for Buffalo, putting up 11 sacks. Williams has already reached 10+ sacks for 4th time in career. The Steelers will need to put two guys on Williams all afternoon.

2. Keep on Runnin – The Bills don’t really have a passing game that is going to scare a lot of teams, but boy oh boy they sure can run the ball. This season the Bills are averaging 145.8 rush yards per game, and will pound, pound, and pound the run game until they start with play action and look down field. Make no mistake about it, the Bills offense is to run their two feature backs until their legs come off.

3. Ball Hawking – Two Bills players, safeties Jim Leonhard and Aaron Williams each have three picks, which shows their aggressive play in the defensive backfield. Ben Roethlisberger needs to be extra careful when it comes to trying to take shots down field. Another player to watch is Bills rookie LB Rookie Kiko Alonso, who has four picks as well. The Bills D is a unit that isn’t afraid to try for the big defensive plays.