The Steelers are in a not-so-ideal spot.
They’re 1-3. They’re riding a three-game losing streak. Their defense has been consistently exploited over the middle and late in games. They’re banged up, with the entire starting secondary appearing on the injury report this week.
And now they get Josh Allen.
Allen, the Bills’ fifth-year quarterback, is off to an MVP caliber start to 2022. And the Steelers are more than aware of his ability to take over and dominate a game.
“He’s very dynamic,” safety Miles Killebrew said. “Anytime you are playing against a guy who is just as good in the pass as he is in his mobility, it’s something you want to try to limit.”
Allen’s mobility presents the Steelers with a tough task. The 26-year-old has an innate ability to extend plays, use his legs, and turn negative plays positive.
So how do you slow that down?
“13-14 guys on the field, maybe,” joked Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. “He's one of those unique quarterbacks that has the ability to run, to throw, to extend plays. You try to do the best that you can to keep them in the pocket, throw from the well, see if you can get him into holding the ball a little bit too long and get your rush there.
“But there's going to be some plays where he escapes and he gets out. And we just got to make sure when those plays happen, they don't become catastrophic for us.”
Allen, to this point, is averaging over 306 passing yards per game — second-most in the NFL. He has ten touchdowns to three interceptions, and has also rushed for 183 yards and two scores. His passer rating of 101.0 is sixth-best in the league.
“They have big name guys,” safety Tre Norwood said. “A great quarterback and a great receiving corps. We know we have to come out there, make sure we minimize them, minimize the big plays, smash the run, and then make the plays on our end whenever they're there, make sure we're playing fundamentally sound defense each and every snap we’re out there.”
As a rookie last season, Norwood started in the Steelers' 23-16 upset of Buffalo, playing 80 percent of the defensive snaps. He and the Steelers managed to pull off the surprising win by holding Allen to 270 yards on 51 pass attempts. They also sacked him three times and forced a fumble.
But the Bills’ quarterback has the potential to go off at moment’s notice. In two postseason games last year, he rattled off 637 passing yards, nine touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for 134 more yards in one of the greatest two-game playoff stretches in NFL history.
Norwood saw that, and the rest of Allen's recent resume, and is wary of the “second play,” his remarkable potential to make something out of nothing when a play breaks down. Because of that, the Steelers are emphasizing their “plaster” approach, making sure to blanket receivers until they hear a whistle, and then some. He also knows that Allen, never shy to absorb contact as a runner, has to be viewed differently than most quarterbacks.
“It's like another running back,” Norwood said. “Just the way he approaches the game, his competitive nature. We have to make sure that we're treating it as such. Whenever he's running, we have to make sure we get him down on the ground. Don't allow for any extra yards.”
Added Austin: “When he’s out, you treat him like a runner, like you would treat any runner, and you go to tackle him because he's not going to slide. There's times he slides, but most of the time he's running because he's a competitive football player. He’s got a great competitive spirit.”