Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills: Who Wins?

Oct 3, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback EJ Manuel (3) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

A fierce battle begins, as two powerhouse squads that are fighting for the tops of their divisions….. Oh and the bottom feeders of the AFC East and North divisions – the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills – are playing too somewhere else.  Both teams have been suffering from sub par performances from top to bottom as well as poor coaching from just about every position.  But don’t let your guard down against these Bills.  They have the 8th best rushing game in the league, and the Steelers have just about the worst run defense.  So, as long as Pitt and Notre Dame replace half the divots they make on Saturday night at Heinz Field, Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller will be tough to stop for a Steeler run defense that hasn’t been this bad in… well… ever.  QB EJ Manuel is slated as probable, and even though Dicky LeBeau has a history of fairing well against rookie QB’s, the combination Manuel, Jackson, and Spiller might just prove too much for the good guys.

The Steelers hope to bounce back from being annihilated against the Patriots in Week 9.  Despite a couple of picks, Roethlisberger had one of his best weeks in a while throwing for 400 yards and four touchdowns.  He hopes to continue the good numbers and hooking up with Antonio Brown and Jerricho Cotchery a few times in the end zone against a Bills defense that is tenacious up front but struggles in the middle of the field.  Rookie running back Le’Veon Bell will hope to continue his continued improvement from week to week.  The defense is the unit that will need to majorly step up and play well if they want to have any chance in winning.  Another performance like they had in Foxboro and Manuel will look like a Tom Brady on Sunday.

My gut tells me this will be a struggle throughout for the Steelers.  The Bills will dominate in just about every category, but the Steelers will hang tough during most of the game after their usual first quarter ‘slow start.’  I think it will be a repeat performance of being behind too much too late in the game, and the Steelers will fall short in another 4th quarter comeback attempt.

But, I want to know what you all think.  Will the Steelers win?  Will they be blown out?  Will coach Tomlin bench himself?  Let’s hear it.