Steelers vs. Bills: 4 Buffalo players fans should watch out for
By Shayne Kubas
What four Bills players should Steelers fans watch out for going into the two teams’ 2021 regular-season opener in Buffalo?
We are just days away from finally having Pittsburgh Steelers football back, and they face a familiar foe as their first test of the 2021 season.
The Buffalo Bills have proven difficult for Pittsburgh to deal with over the past two seasons, going 2-0 over the black and gold and outscoring them 43 to 25. The offense, in particular, has struggled mightily even after having Ben Roethlisberger back for last year’s game after starting Devlin “Duck” Hodges in 2019.
Much has changed for the Steelers this offseason, but Buffalo returns the majority of its starters from last year’s AFC East championship roster.
That being said, what players should Pittsburgh fans be watching out for this week against the Bills?
Let’s start with a receiver who single-handedly carried their passing game in last season’s matchup.
Steelers should worry about Bills WR Stefon Diggs
Stefon Diggs was a revelation in his first season with Buffalo after being traded from the Minnesota Vikings, finishing with the most receiving yards in the league with 1,535. He also set career highs with 127 receptions on 166 targets, establishing himself as one of the best players at his position.
Ten of those 127 receptions came against Pittsburgh last season, as well as 130 yards and a touchdown. He even accounted for over half of the receiving yards for the Bills that game, routinely beating defenders for first downs to keep Buffalo moving down the field.
With the Steelers having much less experience at corner after the losses of Mike Hilton and Steven Nelson, it will likely fall on a combination of Joe Haden and Cam Sutton to try and keep Diggs in check. Sutton should be better equipped to handle his quickness, but most likely we will see Haden get a shot early on to see if he can keep him in check.
The bottom line is that Pittsburgh cannot allow Diggs to take over the game the way he did in 2020 if it wants to have a chance to get revenge for the past two seasons.