The outcome was not what was expected but the effort was the biggest surprise for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The final score was 17-10 but the game was not that close. The Buffalo Bills roughed the Steelers up at home and made the hill Pittsburgh must climb to the playoffs that much steeper.
Here are our studs and duds from Sunday’s loss.
Stud-LB T.J. Watt
Watt continues to make his case for Defensive Player of the Year with another strong game. Watt finished with four tackles, two tackles for loss, .5 sacks and a forced fumble.
Dud-QB Devin Hodges
We saw the worst of the Duck on Sunday night. The Bills defense focused on pinching Hodges in the pocket and failed to the tune of four ugly interceptions. Hodges played scared on Sunday and wasn’t helped by his coaches.
Stud-WR James Washington
The continued growth of Washington has been a highlight of the offense this season. Washington did his part on Sunday night with five receptions for 83 yards. Washington was targeted 11 times but several of those throws were completely uncatchable.
Dud-P Jordan Berry
The game got off to a pretty nasty start for the Steelers when they were forced to punt on their first drive and Berry scuffed it for only 22 yards. I suppose in hindsight as bad as he hit it we should be lucky it didn’t go backward. This was the beginning of the end.
Stud-RB James Conner
Conner returned from a shoulder injury and looked very good. Unfortunately the Steelers coaches decided to completely abandon the run game and using Conner in the second half. Conner had 42 rushing yards on only eight carries and chipped in a receiving touchdown as well.
Dud-LB Bud Dupree
This isn’t to say Dupree had a bad game but he just didn’t have much impact at all. Dupree had three tackles but the signature pressure Dupree has been known for all season was noticeably absent.
Stud-CB Steven Nelson
Nelson continues to quietly put together a really strong season in his first year with the Steelers. Nelson also finally got his first interception of the season on Sunday night.
Dud-The offensive line
We just lumped them all together because the blame can be shared for their poor performance. Hodges rarely had a clean pocket to throw from and the running backs had very little room to run. The Bills defensive front is physical and they pushed the Steelers offensive line around most of the night.
