There's no doubt Josh Allen represents the biggest obstacle in the Steelers' season opener against the Bills this Sunday in Orchard Park, N.Y.
And if anyone's got any doubt about that, Allen's 4,544 passing yards and 37 passing touchdowns were both fifth-most in the NFL and his eight rushing touchdowns were third-most among quarterbacks.
Mike Tomlin addressed his respect Tuesday in his press conference.
"His arm talent is exceptional," Tomlin said at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "His mobility, particularly for a guy of his size and strength, is exceptional. He got out of the pocket and really created issues for us a year ago. But he does that virtually week in and week out. His mobility, his ability to extend plays is a significant component of his game and their game. They spread you out and challenge you in those ways, highlighting that element of his game."
The Steelers are familiar with facing mobile quarterbacks packing strong arms, of course, and they've seen Allen in each of the past two seasons. He didn't put up big numbers either time, but he hit on all cylinders in the second half of the Steelers' 26-15 loss in 2020. In the 17-10 loss in 2019, Allen was 13 of 25 for 139 yards, one passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown and an interception. In 2020, he finished 24 of 43 for 238 yards, two passing touchdowns, one interception and a fumble. But the latter performance included a second half in which he went 14 of 20 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns.
His passer rating from one half to the next was 34.0 to 127.0.
Casual observers might see the big difference being Stefon Diggs' involvement with seven catches for 92 yards and a touchdown compared to his three catches for 38 yards in the first half. But that's not the entire picture because the Bills did try to include Diggs in the first half with six targets and those targets shot up to eight during the second half.
The true difference was how Diggs was targeted more in the middle of the field. The Steelers were not only missing Devin Bush with his season-ending injury, but also Robert Spillane and Vince Williams. The only linebackers available for the game were Avery Williamson in his first start for the team after being traded to the Steelers a month before, Ulysses Gilbert getting his first action seven weeks, and Marcus Allen who had been converted from safety.
The Bills didn't find an effective way to attack that until the second half. In that first half, all the predictable strengths of the Steelers were evident. Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Stephon Tuitt were making life hard for Allen in the pocket.
Watch this pass rush where Highsmith got past his man and forced Allen to move right where Watt was waiting to bat the pass down:
But when the Bills realized they not only needed to get the ball out, but attack the Steelers' defense where it was weakest, it changed everything.
The Bills' first seven possessions resulted in four punts, two turnovers and a field goal all in the first half. But Allen and the offense opened the second half by scoring their only two touchdowns in back-to-back possessions. He began working the ball more towards the middle of the field, where the Steelers' defense had no legitimate help underneath Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds at safety.
Watch how Diggs worked to the middle of the field where the Steelers were in zone defense and couldn't have Cam Sutton trail him:
You can see both Gilbert and Williamson unable to get any depth in their coverage, opening up that space for Diggs to run. That problem persisted for the rest of the second half, even when Allen wasn't targeting Diggs.
Here was a key third down conversion when Allen completed a pass over the middle to Isaiah McKenzie on a shallow cross. You can see Allen maneuver his way up the pocket and check it down to McKenzie right as Watt got his clear path to Allen. But notice how the Steelers tried to cover the play:
You can see Justin Layne was covering McKenzie, one of the reserves brought up because Joe Haden was inactive. The Bills ran two receivers inside of McKenzie deeper down the field to clear space between him and Layne. Notice that while the Steelers were in dime defense with six defensive backs, no linebacker was in the middle of the field to help.
That left Fitzpatrick as the only defender who could help, coming from deep and being even closer to McKenzie than Layne was:
When you don't have athletic linebackers who can cover, run and hit in the middle of the field, it opens up serious holes.
Tomlin dismissed putting too much stock in how last year's loss to the Bills played out, noting that both the Steelers' losses to the Bills came late in the season when teams were dealing with injuries, late season issues and how turnovers played a major factor. He's right, as the Steelers were decimated on defense in 2020 and were down to Devlin Hodges' four interceptions in 2019.
But remember, the Steelers' defense did a very good job in 2019 holding the Bills' offense in check even with being handed four turnovers. Part of that success definitely involved Bush patrolling the middle of the field and being a serious coverage threat while also playing a QB spy on Allen in case he ran.
Watch how smooth he looked in this third down stop of Allen on a scramble back in 2019:
Allen dropped back, and similarly to the 2020 conversion to McKenzie stepped up in the pocket only to see Watt chasing him. But this time, Bush is sitting in the middle of the field to take away any checkdowns, forcing Allen to run. Bush then capitalized by bringing Allen down and forcing a punt.
Having athletes in the middle of the field who can take on several roles is key in today's NFL with more athletic quarterbacks.
But again, it takes multiple players to help here. One player can be isolated more easily and avoided, while two off-ball linebackers who can cover, run and tackle, take up a lot more space over the middle of the field.
Joe Schobert plays that role of a second linebacker who can aid Bush. Schobert has only played Allen and the Browns one time in his career, when he recorded five tackles in the Browns' 19-16 win over the Bills in 2019. Schobert played a similar role to Bush in how he spied Allen all game and helped be a coverage threat in the middle of the field.
But the other element he brought was a linebacker who could move sideline-to-sideline and tackle in space. When Allen wanted to checkdown his passes, Schobert was there waiting.
Watch how he went from lining up in the middle of the field to tackling Devin Singletary in the flat for a key third down stop:
And again, he'll be one of two linebackers who can take on that role with Bush sharing the middle of the field.
This was why, way back before the 2021 NFL Draft, I argued in favor of the Steelers' drafting another athletic linebacker to pair with Bush. Even though Spillane showed potential and Buddy Johnson looks to have a serious future in the NFL, neither were serious options as linebackers who can fill as many roles as Schobert.
While he and Bush might not be the best NFL linebacker pair, they will be a serious step up from what the Steelers had against the Bills last season and a problem in the middle of the field that could provide a serious challenge for Allen.