A Bills player no one is talking about who could impact the outcome vs. the Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills renew their rivalry in the season opener in Week 1, and the battle of the AFC power houses certainly has a lot of headlines swirling around it.

T.J. Watt’s new mega deal after not participating in any team drills or preseason games.

The Bills being AFC contenders, possibly even Super Bowl contenders.

Ben Roethlisberger’s ability to prove the game, and his career, haven’t passed him by.

Among those story lines are players who aren’t talked about often, but can certainly play a role in the outcome of the game. This week I was fortunate enough to ask Buffalo Rumbling’s contributor Corey Giacovelli several questions leading up to the big game Sunday.

One of those questions was if he could give me a player who isn’t being talked about, but could play a big role in who wins and loses the game. He didn’t disappoint and gave a player Steelers fans should become acquainted with heading into Week 1.

“The game last season was a defensive battle for the majority of the contest with both teams digging in trying to not break. Therefore I am going with the new Bills punter, Matt Haack. It will be important for Haack to be able to pin the Steelers deep and change the field position battle when needed. The last thing you will want to do is give the Steelers offense a short field to work with. During the preseason, Haack did not have the best punts under his belt so hopefully that will change on Sunday.”

With Haack being a new addition to the Bills, it could be a battle of the new punters with the Steelers deploying rookie Pressley Harvin III for his first professional game action. There is no doubt the field position game will be critical in the outcome of this contest Sunday.

The fact Haack struggled a bit in the preseason could be a positive for the Steelers. Could return man Ray-Ray McCloud create a spark by taking a short punt to the house? Or at least setting up the Steelers in scoring position? It would go a long way in helping the Steelers pull off the upset Sunday.

It is rare you have a punter being highlighted as a player to watch, but I think it’s safe to say both fan bases will be keeping an eye on their specialists in Orchard Park this Sunday.

Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the upcoming game between the Steelers and Bills this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET.