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The 2022 regular season is full swing, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for the Buffalo Bills in Week 5. While the Steelers get ready for their third road game of the season, it is time for the BTSC staff to put on their prognostication hats and guess the winner of the contest.
Who will get closest? We will be keeping tabs, so let’s get the picks. Check out the staff picks below:
Jeff Hartman
Talk about an uphill climb for the Steelers, but just because the climb is difficult doesn’t make it impossible. Could the Steelers go into Buffalo with a rookie quarterback and win? It isn’t impossible. Last season, in Week 1, the Steelers did the improbable and went into Buffalo and found a way to beat Josh Allen and the Bills. Yes, they had T.J. Watt for that game, but I’m harkening back to that game for my prediction...
Pick: Steelers 23, Bills 16
Dave Schofield
I think the Steelers keep this game closer than many anticipate. First, the offense scores their most points of the season despite going up against the number one defense in the NFL. Additionally, the Steelers go for a two-point conversion late to cut it to a field goal but are unsuccessful. Instead of needing a field goal to tie, they will ultimately need a touchdown to win. But the defense can’t get the ball back for the offense to do either and the Steelers leave Buffalo covering the spread but with another tally in the loss column.
Pick: Bills 34, Steelers 29
Bryan Anthony Davis
Nine times out of ten, the Bills are definitively going to win this game at home. Logic says this is going to be a debacle for the Steelers. But sometimes what should happen doesn’t. Buffalo’s injury report has more names on it than there were on the guest list at the Last Supper, and there is some thought that the Bills could look past Pittsburgh to next week’s opponent, Kansas City. What if Kenny Pickett is the Cinderella hero that the NFL world craves? This should be a loss for the Steelers. But the romantic in me is envisioning what only happens in the movies. This could be the week that the fifth dentist gets retribution. This could be the tenth game that defies all logic.
Pick: Steelers 30, Bills 28
K.T. Smith
The Steelers are 14-point dogs in this game, which is one of the largest spreads against them I can recall. But, at Buffalo, who looks like a Super Bowl contender, with a rookie QB making his first start, and a defense that’s banged up, 14 points seems about right. I think the Steelers will play hard. And I think they’ll be energized by having Kenny Pickett in the huddle. I can’t see them winning, though. Pittsburgh should look more competent on offense than they have all season, but Buffalo will pull away in the 2nd half.
Pick: Bills 34, Steelers 20
Geoffrey Benedict
The Bills are 3-1 and feeling like they haven’t played well enough yet. They bring one of the top defenses in the NFL against Kenny Pickett, and they know he’s the starter. The Bills rank 7th in pressure rate and blitz the least of any NFL team. They rank third in generating turnovers. This is a very different situation than going in against the Jets defense that was prepared to face Mitch Trubisky.
On the other side, the Steelers defense is trying to find its identity without T.J. Watt, and they are banged up in the secondary facing Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs. I expect Josh Allen’s running to be a real problem for the Steelers and for Pickett to struggle facing a top tier NFL defense in his first start.
Pick: Steelers 17, Bills 34
Rich Schofield (Big Bro Scho)
The Steelers are an improving football team. The issue is they were a lousy football team to start. The Bills are a pretty darn good football team. Even though the Bills are banged up a bit, the Steelers have a few guys dinged up as well, and can really not afford it. The secondary injuries are huge for the Steelers as Allen slowly picks them apart.
Pick: Bills 34, Steelers 24
Shannon White
Kenny Pickett believes the Steelers have a chance in this game, even if nobody else does. That could simply be the ignorance of youth, or an unshakeable self confidence. Either way, those are attributes I want to see in any potential franchise QB. You have to believe in you before you can expect others to believe in you. I honestly have little faith the Steelers can win this game. Any game without T.J. Watt, for that matter. I believe Pickett will inspire and elevate his teammates enough to keep the game from turning into a blowout. Pickett and the Steelers give an inspired effort good enough to cover the spread, but will still remain winless without Watt. Sticking with my Know Your Enemy podcast prediction.
Pick: Bills 35, Steelers 24
Jeremy Betz
Looking at this realistically, the Steelers have a major uphill battle to even be watchable in this game. The Bills boast arguably the league’s most complete defense, ranking 1st and 2nd in yards/game and points/game respectively, despite a rash of injuries. The Bills offense is equally impressive, ranking 3rd in yards/game and 5th in points.
This all bodes ill for a Steelers squad that is pretty banged up on defense with potentially 4-6 starters unavailable to them. Add in an offense trying to right the ship with a rookie QB making his first start and you’ve got yourself the makings of a bloodbath. However, the Steelers often play to their competition under Tomlin, so although I believe the Bills win, the final score might be closer than the tea leaves indicate.
Pick: Bills 31, Steelers 24
Bradley Locker
Well, we knew no moment was too big for Kenny Pickett: that’s a good thing, because it’s hard to ask more from a rookie to handle playing in Buffalo, against one of the best teams in the NFL, for your first ever start. Pickett makes the Steelers’ offense much more exciting, but I just cannot see the Bills making repeated errors like they did against Pittsburgh in last year’s season opener. The Steelers get run off the field by a much more talented, disciplined, physical football team on both sides of the ball. Stefon Diggs might actually have 200 yards alone over the middle of the field.
Pick: Bills 38, Steelers 14
Kyle Chrise (What Yinz Talkin’ Bout)
Biggest point spread in Steelers history?? Well, the bigger the underdog, the bigger the heart of the dog. Bet the barn.
Pick: Bills 13, Steelers 0
Anthony Defeo
The Bills might have some injury issues, but they also have Josh Allen, arguably the best quarterback in the NFL. He's certainly almost the peer of Lamar Jackson when it comes to taking off and running. He will be a handful to deal with, as will the rest of Buffalo's potent offense.
The Bills defense is also quite good and may be able to generate just enough pressure to compensate for being down two safeties.
I believe the Steelers will be game early under Kenny Pickett, but I just don't see how Pittsburgh's defense can slow down the Bills offense.
Pick: Bills 42, Steelers 20
What is your prediction? Let us know in the comment section below, and feel free to tell the contributors above why they are dead wrong, or spot on!
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