Oct 14, 2022 5 min read

Nearly everyone expected the Steelers to lose to the Bills in Buffalo last weekend. Now, they might not have expected the blowout loss that occurred, but there was a reason why the pointspread in the game was 14½ by the time the game kicked off.

The Bills are really, really good. The Steelers? Well, they’re struggling to find an identity.

But with a rookie quarterback making his first career start, if someone told you before the game that the final score was going to be 38-3, you likely would have thought Kenny Pickett threw four or five interceptions and the Steelers couldn’t get out of their own way offensively.

That wasn’t the case.

Pickett looked like he belonged. He was decisive. He didn’t hold the football. He made plays down the field – just not in the red zone, where the Steelers were 0-for-4.

This is not to say Pickett was perfect by any stretch. After all, the Steelers scored three points despite rolling up a season-high 364 yards against the NFL’s No. 1 defense.

It wasn’t all that bad.

Now at 1-4 following that loss, getting continued development of Pickett becomes job No. 1 for the Steelers. They would have to go on an incredible role, starting with Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay at Acrisure Stadium, to have a shot at rebounding to make the playoffs. That’s why those close losses to the Patriots, Browns and Jets hurt so badly.

It’s tough to recover from 1-4.

But the back end of the schedule, after the bye in Week 9, offers plenty of winnable games. And continuing to grow with this young team is a must.

In Pickett, the team looks to have found its quarterback of the future. There will be ups and downs with a young QB, but he hasn’t been overwhelmed by anything thrown at him yet.

n Figuring out the defense also would help. Now, to be fair, the Steelers had so many injuries on that side of the ball Sunday, at times it looked like the fourth quarter of the final preseason game.

Even those of us who cover the team on a daily basis had to keep looking at the flip card to figure out who some of those guys were.

But that’s no excuse. The Bills were playing with a number of starters out as well. They just happened to have Josh Allen on their side.

That was enough.

n Lost in the fallout of the Steelers’ worst loss since getting thumped by Cleveland, 51-0, in the opener in 1989 was the fact the offensive line continues to be a bright spot.

To have a rookie quarterback drop back to pass 52 times in that stadium against that defense and only allow two legitimate sacks is a big step forward.

n Just a reminder to everyone that the deer you see in the wild are, in fact, wild. That includes those at Washington Park and Washington Cemetery.

Yes, they’re cute. And yes, sometimes they’ll come up to your car when you offer food. But never forget they are wild animals, not pets. And they’re heading into mating season. They can be quite unpredictable when that happens.

This week’s games

Buccaneers (minus 8) at Steelers: This is the exact opposite of last week’s matchup for Pickett and the Steelers. The Bills rarely blitz. The Bucs are one of the heaviest blitz teams in the league. It will be a big test for the young QB. The Steelers got embarrassed last week. They weren’t happy about it. But they’re also playing Tom Brady, who is 12-3 against them and rarely loses to rookie quarterbacks. Take the Bucs, 27-17

Ravens (plus 5½) at Giants: The Ravens have been bad against the pass, but the Giants don’t have any healthy receivers. So it will be the running of Lamar Jackson against the running of Saquon Barkley. The Giants just traveled back from London. Here’s guessing they might have tired legs. Take the Ravens, 27-20

Patriots (plus 2½) at Browns: The Browns are averaging 5.3 yards per carry. But they’re also allowing 5.3 yards per carry. Here’s guessing Bill Belichick will have enough up his sleeve to figure out a way to stop his former QB, Jacoby Brissett, even while slowing Nick Chubb. Tough to bet on Bailey Zappe to go 2-0, but here we are. Take the Patriots, 21-20

Bengals (minus 2) at Saints: The Andy Dalton Revenge Game. It appears Dalton will get the start again for the Saints. But New Orleans’ receivers are really banged up. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase head back to the bayou, where they starred for LSU. Take the Bengals, 24-20

49ers (minus 5½) at Falcons: The Falcons have been in or won most of their games, but not against a team and defense with this kind of talent. San Francisco hasn’t allowed more than 15 points in a game since allowing 19 in a rainstorm in Chicago in Week 1. They won’t in this one, either. Take the 49ers, 26-17

Last Week: 1-3-1 ATS; 3-2 straight up.

Overall: 10-13-2 ATS; 14-11 straight up.