2 reasons Steelers should lose vs. Bills and 2 reasons why they won’t

James Conner isn’t the best back in the league, but he is by far the best back on the roster.

It isn’t even close at this point, after the last 2 games, it has become obvious how much better of a runner Conner is than Snell or McFarland. With Conner back, he will bring two things to the Steelers. First is the ability to run for more than 1 yard on first down. The second thing is that he is a much better receiver out of the backfield than Snell and McFarland. Jaylen Samuels found a role in Week 13 catching more passes than both of the other active running backs combined.

He will be a safety valve that can allow Ben to take his time reading the field this game. More importantly, getting Conner the ball in space on 3rd and medium when the rest of the receivers are covered deep is not a bad option.

I’m not saying that the return of Conner is going to fix all of the Steelers’ offensive issues but a 2nd and 6 after a run on first down is a lot more manageable than a 2nd and 10 or 2nd and 11 which is a situation the Steelers found themselves in rather frequently during his absence. The return of Conner means that there will be no reason for Ben to throw the ball 50 times.

On top of Ben likely having a huge performance after the loss, and it being their first normal week of preparation after playing 3 games in 12 days, the Steelers have Mike Tomlin. Tomlin has likely been struggling to keep his team focused while trying to remove the possible pressure of going undefeated. It is a fine line to walk when you have to stay motivated but not overpressuring yourself mentally as an athlete. Without that burden, Tomlin’s team will be as mentally stable as they have been all year. Which may even help with the drops as well.