Kenny Pickett And Josh Allen Battle In A Week 5 David Vs. Goliath Matchup
Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Buffalo in Week Five to battle the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo enters this week on a high after an exciting 23-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Their opponents, however, lost a heartbreaker to the New York Jets, 24-20.
NFL MVP candidate Josh Allen will look to show the rookie Kenny Pickett what being an elite QB looks like and get the Bills on the scoreboard early at Highmark. The win over Baltimore was tough, but it was still a win.
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost a game that everyone expected them to win last week and will find out what their team is made of on Sunday afternoon in Buffalo. Facing the Bills Mafia is a tough challenge for any QB, let alone a kid with 30 minutes of NFL football under his belt.
Can the Bills score early and put the pressure on Kenny Pickett right away? Will Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds be able to keep him in the pocket and minimize his scrambling nature? Let’s dig in!
What We Saw Last Week
Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills (3-1, Win Over Baltimore)
This game was played on a windy and wet day in Baltimore. The game started out sloppy for the Bills, with Josh Allen looking too amped up and either overthrowing his receivers or putting too much mustard on it. The first series ended quickly with an interception by Marlon Humphries less than a minute into the game.
The game was a tale of two halves once again. At one point in the first half, the Bills trailed by 20 points and were down 20 to three. Josh Allen connected with Isaiah McKenzie just before halftime to bring the Bills within 10 points. Buffalo’s first possession of the second half started with a 20-yard run from Josh Allen and seemed to spark a bit of life into the running game. On the very next play, Devin Singletary beat the defense for an impressive 18-yard run. The first series ended with a 51-yard field goal by Tyler Bass, but the Bills were back in the game and only trailing by seven.
The defense did its’ job and kept Lamar Jackson contained for most of the afternoon. Lamar finished the day with 73 rushing yards, 144 yards passing, one touchdown, and two interceptions. The Ravens took advantage of some poor gap control in other ways, though, and running back J.K. Dobbins broke off a couple of nice runs. Buffalo’s defense held up and kept the game close.
Kenny Pickett’s Pittsburgh Steelers (1-3, Lost To New York Jets)
The only real interesting storyline coming out of a relatively uneventful and not very entertaining loss last week to the New York Jets came in the second half. Kenny Pickett made his NFL debut for the Steelers.
Mike Tomlin wanted to break Pickett in gently and give him time to get his feet wet against a team they expected to beat. The first series on offense saw three straight runs by Najee Harris for a total of 9 yards. On fourth and one, Kenny Pickett was given the green light to run a quarterback sneak in order to pick up the first down. The first carry of Pickett’s career was a success, and the Steelers maintained possession.
Pickett’s first series ended with an interception on a long pass attempt to Chase Claypool between two Jets defenders. I have no real issues with the decision-making or the throw, though. Claypool was drafted to win these types of battles by being bigger and more athletic. Kenny Pickett slightly underthrew the ball, but Chase should have made that catch and extended the drive.
The Steelers’ pass defense was less than stellar last week and allowed Zach Wilson to find open receivers sitting in the open zone for easy completions. They did sack Wilson and had a couple of tipped-ball interceptions, but there is no reason that a quarterback like Zach Wilson, who struggled mightily last season and coming back from an injury, should have had the day he did. Pittsburgh was leading 20-17 with under four minutes left in the game and allowed the Jets to drive down the field for a two-yard TD run from Breece Hall.
Buffalo Bills Relevant Stats from Week Four
I fully expected a shootout and high-scoring game in Baltimore last week, but boy was I wrong! The weather was bad enough to slow both offenses down and create a tight, low-scoring affair. The rain caused dropped pass after dropped pass and just didn’t let the Bills’ offense get on track.
Overall I will give myself a C for last week. The weather was not great, and (for very different reasons) neither James Cook nor Gabe Davis was ready to be reliable weapons for Josh Allen. These factors affected the Bills’ offense more than I anticipated.
What To Expect From Buffalo Bills In Week Five
Josh Allen And The Offense
The Bills lost Isaiah McKenzie with a head injury last week; as of right now, his status is unclear. If he does not clear concussion protocols, the offense will have a huge hole to figure out at slot receiver. Jameson Crowder is out, Jake Kumerow is in limbo as far as his ability to suit up goes, and the rookie running back (Cook) does not look NFL-ready at this point.
Josh Allen will be looking for Diggs early and often this week, and I fully expect this duo to have a big game against a weakened Steelers defense. Dawson Knox has not been utilized enough this season, and with the slot receivers injured, he is in line for a good dose of five to 10-yard zone beater passes.
Finally, Devin Singletary seemed to get things going last week against Baltimore, and I am looking for him to be even more involved in the short passing game and have a decent night up the middle.
Bills Defense
Von Miller, Groot, Tremaine Edmunds, and Matt Milano are poised for a big day of applying a ton of pressure on the rookie QB, Kenny Pickett. On the defense’s back end, look for Jordan Poyer to bait Pickett into misreading the defensive coverage and trying to pick off any downfield passes to Claypool.
Buffalo Bills Keys to Victory
Pressure Kenny Pickett with stunts and edge rushing
Get Diggs the ball in space to take advantage of a beat-up Steelers defense
Utilize Knox and Singletary often in the short passing game
Continue giving James Cook opportunities in the passing game to build his confidence
Contain Kenny Pickett in the pocket, and do not let him scramble away from pressure
What To Expect From Kenny Pickett’s Pittsburgh Steelers In Week Five
Pickett’s Offense
Kenny Pickett took over in the second half of the Jets game last week and energized the Steelers. Pickett will be challenged by an elite Bills defensive front to maintain his composure under pressure and hang in the pocket to allow his receivers to get separation.
The offensive line did not open up any real holes for Najee Harris last week, and that must get better this weekend. The Steelers are not ready to be a downfield passing offense with rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett under center. The line is good enough to create space for him, they just need to do it. Without a strong run game, the Bills’ front four will be able to pin their ears back and fire all cannons at Pickett.
Steelers Defense
Ending last week’s game, the defenders for the Steelers were beaten up. We do not know exactly who is going to be back this week yet. In the post-game presser, Tomlin outlined some of the key injuries on the defense. We already know about TJ Watt, but Ahkello Witherspoon, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cam Heyward, Cam Sutton, and Terrell Edmunds are other players to keep an eye on this week. Pittsburgh is in for a long day if they are unavailable this week.
Pittsburgh Steelers Keys To Victory
Run the ball effectively with Najee to take pressure off of Kenny Pickett
Diontae Johnson cannot waste TD opportunities with dropped passes or toes out of bounds
Chase Claypool needs to win one on one opportunities against smaller defenders
Kenny Pickett needs to create space with his legs and keep defenders off of him
The defense must be healthy
Contain Josh Allen, and do not let him scramble to his right
Simplify the game plan for Pickett, so he doesn’t get confused on coverages
Fantasy Projections
Josh Allen: 31-39/305/3, 6/35/1
Stefon Diggs: 14/125/2
Gabe Davis: 6/50/0
Dawson Knox: 7/65/1
Devin Singletary: 12/42/0, 6/48/0
Final Score
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are in for a fight this week, but one they should win fairly easily. Buffalo should dominate time of possession and control the game on both sides of the ball.
Kenny Pickett will be under tremendous pressure and is in for a rough afternoon at Highmark. Buffalo is going to win this week and remind everyone why they are the Superbowl favorites.
Buffalo Wins 35-13
GO BILLS!
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