The Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills are set to play in one of the coldest games in NFL history on Sunday afternoon. There is a winter storm warning in effect in Buffalo from Saturday morning to Monday morning with winds gusting as high as 65 miles per hour.
Andrew Fillipponi of the Audacy original podcast “1st & Pod” had an interesting thought on what the Steelers should do if the weather conditions force both teams to stick to running the ball.
“Allen as a runner, I think, is a scarier proposition than him as a passer. At least when he passes the ball there’s the chance he’s going to do something insane,” Fillipponi said (30:05 in player above). “If you take that out, I think for Steelers fans, be careful what you wish for if it turns into a game where both teams strictly run because you’ve got Mason Rudolph and they’ve got Josh Allen.”
Allen ran for 524 yards on 111 carries this season, including 15 rushing touchdowns – tied with Jalen Hurts for the league lead. Meanwhile, Mason Rudolph has 43 carries and no rushing touchdowns in his 21-game (13 starts) NFL career.
“It would be interesting if the weather got that bad because – this is going to sound nuts,” Fillipponi continued. “If the weather is really that bad and I’m the Steelers, I would be tempted to go Wildcat a lot in this game.”
The Steelers have a few offensive weapons that can carry the football, including running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. Wide receivers George Pickens and Diontae Johnson could also benefit from the ball in their hands.
Fillipponi would also be tempted to play Mitch Trubisky in some packages if the situation calls for it.
“He likes to go rogue sometimes but the interesting thing about him is … he is a really good athlete,” he said. “The reason why the Bills brought him in as a backup is because they thought he is a very, very, very, very, very poor man’s version of Josh Allen… He’s a very, very good athlete.”
Trubisky spent the 2021 season in Buffalo after four seasons in Chicago. He’s been with the Steelers for the past two seasons, and while he hasn’t had a huge impact through the air, his athletic ability could be put to good use in poor weather conditions.