4 reasons Vince Williams’ absence will lead to a loss for Steelers

With Vince Williams in doubt for the Bills game, here are the four reasons why this could lead to a Steelers loss.

It was announced on Thursday that the Steelers had moved starting linebacker Vince Williams to the COVID-19 list, putting his status for the Sunday night game against the Bills in question. If he misses this game, it could be the final nail in this defense’s coffin.

While the unit is supremely talented, it is riddled with injuries and now has lost one of its leaders. Here are the reasons that losing Williams this week could result in a loss for the Steelers.

Steelers already down starters on defense going into this week

The Steelers have suffered some major defensive injuries in recent weeks. Last Monday proved to be brutal for the team, as they lost two more key starters. Both Robert Spillane and Joe Haden left the game with injures. Unfortunately, both players have already been ruled out this week against the Bills, according to Steelers official injury report.

While getting Steven Nelson back will be a huge help, Haden is still the better overall coverage player. As well, the inside linebacker group was thin after Spillane went down, and now there is essentially no one that can serve as backups. Finally, communication may become an issue, as the Steelers were likely going to rely on Williams to handle communicating for the defense. Losing Williams just adds to this list of problems.