The Pittsburgh Steelers will play their 12th game of the 2025 season at home against the Buffalo Bills. With the Ravens losing on Thursday, it gives the Steelers a chance to retake the lead in the AFC North. Additionally, this conference game could be of importance down the road for seeding in the playoffs, should both teams make it. The Bills come in with a 7-4 record and are 4-3 within the conference.
Below are five key things I believe the Steelers will need to do to come away with their seventh win of the year.
Don’t Let Them Cook – This game against Buffalo is another in a string of games against the top NFL rushing teams. It started with Chicago, and coming up, they have Baltimore twice, Detroit and these Bills. Prior to the Thanksgiving Day games, Buffalo sat at No. 1 in the league in rushing.
There are two key cogs in the running attack. The first is running back James Cook. He is fast and he is efficient. Per Next Gen Stats, he is third in efficiency, which measures the total distance a player traveled on rushing plays per rushing yards gained. In layman’s terms, it identifies who is a north/south, downhill runner.
Cook is also the fourth fastest in time spent behind the line of scrimmage, second in rushing yards over expected, third in touchdowns and averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
You also have to take into account Josh Allen, especially in the red zone. He has 371 yards of rushing, averages 5.3 yards per carry and has 10 rushing touchdowns.
The Steelers’ defense did a solid job against Chicago. They held Kyle Monangai to 48 yards and D’Andre Swift to just 15. They will need a similar defensive performance in this game.
Rush to Judgement – As it stands today, Buffalo has allowed the third most rushing yards in the league. They allow 5.3 yards per carry, have allowed the most rushing touchdowns (17), are third in allowing runs over 20 yards (11), and second in total runs over 40 yards (5). They have allowed over 100 yards rushing in nine of 11 games. They have allowed 200 yards rushing three times this season.
In recent weeks, teams have become less and less worried about the Steelers’ passing game, and have begun stacking the box even more. Chicago had eight or more defenders in the box 11 times; Cincinnati did it 20 times.
Undeterred, Pittsburgh has stuck with the run. In those two games, they ran the ball 23 times against the stacked box for 128 yards. Boosted by the fake tush push, sure, but they did stay committed to the run. Twenty-six carries versus the Bengals and 30 versus the Bears.
We can expect another heavy dose on the ground. Effective running leads to better play action, more open lanes for receivers with so many bodies near the line of scrimmage, and if effective, it keeps Buffalo’s offense on the sideline.
One’s versus Two’s – The Steelers received some good news this week with Alex Highsmith set to return to the starting lineup. Having him along with T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig provides a trio of pass rushers to get after the quarterback.
The Bills were not as lucky. They will be without their two starting tackles: Dion Dawkins (concussion) and Spencer Brown (shoulder). That’s not good news, especially after Allen was sacked eight times last week.
Last week, the Bears were missing three inside linebackers. You would have expected Pittsburgh would have made it a focal point to test those linebackers, especially in the passing game. They did not. For the most part, the Steelers avoided throwing in the middle of the field. Expect the Black and Gold edge rushers not to make the same mistake.
The Steelers’ edge rushers will likely face off with a pair of former UConn players. Ryan Van Demark, who has played in 37 games with three starts in his career. His last start came in week four of this year against New Orleans. In 2025, he had 36 offensive snaps other than that game. On the other side will be rookie Chase Lundt. He has appeared in one game, also against New Orleans, for three snaps.
Watt, Highsmith, Herbig and Jack Sawyer need to give them all they can manage.
Splash More – Every team wants more splash plays. Pittsburgh has been yearning for more all season. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith spoke about it this week. They need to find different ways to create the splash plays.
I wrote earlier about the running game and how the Bills have surrendered some big plays there. The passing game may be a bit harder. Buffalo’s pass defense is the best when it comes to yards allowed. They have given up the fewest pass attempts and completions. A lot of that may have to do with how bad their run defense has been. The pass defense is good at limiting big pass plays allowing just one over forty yards. Smith needs to be creative and get the Pittsburgh offense to find splashes through the air.
On the other side of the ball, Pittsburgh’s defense has had its struggles in the passing game. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin spoke about the weakness in coverage last week that allowed a touchdown.
Allen is prone to trying to do too much in the offense. He took the blame for some of the sacks last week. He is among the league leaders with nine interceptions. He has also fumbled five times this season. The Steelers’ defense is responsible for three touchdowns in recent weeks. There are opportunities for the defense to find more.
Reject Returns – One of the better groups on the Steelers roster has been the kick coverage team. So far this year, opposing teams have averaged 25.4 yards per return of Chris Boswell’s kickoffs. That is in the top third of the league as far as limiting return yardage allowed.
Buffalo’s main return man is running back Ray Davis. He returned 97 yards for a touchdown last week against the Houston Texans. He is ranked first in the NFL at 34.4 yards per return. Even if you take out the touchdown return, he is still averaging 29.6 yards per return.
Ben Skowronek (12 tackles), Carson Bruener (11), Payton Wilson (9), and Sawyer (8) are currently the team leaders in special teams tackles. They will need to set the tone limiting the kickoff returns. Make Allen and company work with a longer field.