The Buffalo Bills are getting set to host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday but head into Super Wildcard Weekend with a few injuries already to deal with. Both Gabe Davis and Taylor Rapp were already declared out for Super Wildcard Weekend while Tyrel Dodson and Rasul Douglas are still considered day-to-day. That said, we shouldn't take the Steelers and Coach Tomlin, lightly. He won ten games this season with Kenny Pickett, Michell Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph as his starting quarterbacks. Please make no mistake about it, Mike Tomlin can flat-out coach and is one of the very best in the league.
For the Bills to make a run in the playoffs and get into the Big Game, it's going to require a few players to step up and not necessarily have other-worldly performances but be solid contributors and make a play here and there. Those players to me include the likes of Khalil Shakir, A.J. Epenesa, and Greg Rousseau. Don't get me wrong, if any of those players go off in the post-season, it's just that much better. But I have a few others that I believe this postseason hinges on their performances throughout.
This list includes some that you could probably have guessed due to their importance to the team, but some could make a huge difference for the Bills, particularly in the coming weeks. I don't want to sound like I'm looking past the Steelers, because if the Bills aren't careful, Pittsburgh could surprise you. They are great at keeping games close, and then making that one big play to put you away. And let's be honest here, the Bills in 2023 have been great at helping teams stay close. So, if the following players could just turn it up a couple of notches, activate that clutch gene, and get it done, that would be great.
Josh Allen - Quarterback
Let's just get the obvious one out of the way. The Buffalo Bills likely only go as far as Josh Allen can take them; however, we've seen this team win without being dependent on Allen, and the Bills have become a much more balanced offense since Joe Brady took over as the offensive coordinator. That said, there will be times in the playoffs when Allen needs to be superhuman. The teams in postseason play are too good for the Bills to be able to simply run the ball and win that way.
Allen is more than capable of taking over a game, and Buffalo will need him to go out and do his thing. But is "doing his thing" always a good thing? No, it isn't however, numerous times this season, Allen has put the team on his back and put them in position to win in the end. Unfortunately, the defense didn't always hold up their end of the bargain but that was earlier in the year. This defense is playing outstanding right now and if Allen can go out there and be on his A-game, I don't believe a team in the league can keep up with this Bills team.
Dalton Kincaid - Tight end
Dalton Kincaid can be a difference-maker in these playoffs. He has the talent to stretch the middle of the field, putting pressure on defenses to defend the seams. This would also open up things underneath for Khalil Shakir and James Cook, and perhaps Dawson Knox if the team is in two tight sets. Kincaid can be a huge factor all around and help open up this offense. He can beat single coverage against most linebackers and if he finds the holes in the zone, Allen can feed him all day. This in turn should create more one-on-one matchups for Stefon Diggs as well.
Entering his first postseason, Kincaid will have a chance to add some playoff records to his resume. He's already set a few regular season records. Kincaid can be a matchup nightmare for any team in the postseason. With the way teams have been coming at Allen with their various blitz packages, Kincaid can be the perfect outlet, as we saw late in the Miami game. It seemed to take the duo a couple of quarters to figure that out, but Allen started hitting Kincaid over the middle when the Dolphins brought the pressure. More of that and teams will start to back off the blitz and look for other ways to stop Buffalo's offense.
Rasul Douglas - Cornerback
Rasul Douglas might be the most important member of the Bills' defense. It's no coincidence the Bills' resurgence on the defensive side of the ball occurred when Brandon Beane acquired Douglas in a trade-deadline deal. When the Bills lost Tre'Davious White, they lost a guy they could trust in one-on-one coverage against any wide receiver in the league. Buffalo's defense over the last six games has been a top-five unit and it's largely due to Douglas.
Douglas' arrival also seems to have helped Christian Benford elevate his game. As a veteran in this league, I'm sure there have been moments where Douglas pulled Benford to the side and said, hey, when you see this, this is likely to happen. He's helped in the firm room too and now these two have formed one of the best duos in the league, as evidenced by their eighth-ranked Pro Football Focus grades for 2023.
James Cook - Running back
First of all, James Cook is going to need to catch those touchdowns when Allen puts the ball in his hands. Cook was known as one of the best receiving backs coming out of college and has done very well in that department this season, so I'm not worried about him suddenly having an ongoing case of the dropsies. Cook might be the single most important player on this offense, not named Josh Allen. If the Bills can get their run game going with Cook and get him active in the passing game, that's going to make life very difficult for opposing defenses.
Cook became the first Bills running back since LeSean McCoy to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. He finished in the top five in rushing and all-purpose yards. He's become one of the best backs in the NFL and the Bills need to feed him early and often. If James starts cooking, this offense is unstoppable.
Leonard Floyd - Edge defender
A season ago, I would have put Von Miller in this spot, but we all know the situation with Miller, at least we know he's been absent in terms of sack numbers. If he can start to get back to contributing even a little, that could be big but I'm not counting on that. Instead, I'm counting on Leonard Floyd having an excellent postseason. He's been here before with the Los Angeles Rams and knows what it takes.
He became the first Bills defender to record double-digit sacks since Lorenzo Alexander. The most effective way to disrupt a quarterback is to pressure, hit, and sack him early and often. As the former and late Raiders owner Al Davis used to always say, "The quarterback must go down and must go down hard". I like Floyd a lot in these playoffs and think between him, DaQuan Jones, and Ed Oliver, the Bills front will wreak havoc. Something that seemed to disappear in past postseasons.