Many Steelers fans were actively rooting for the Dolphins to beat the Bills on Sunday so that the Steelers would go to Kansas City for their first-round matchup and avoid playing in Buffalo.
When I saw this on social media from multiple people — even some media members — I had to wonder if wacky tobaccy was flowing among Steelers nation or if people just had too much to drink in the wake of the Titans' win over the Jaguars that put Pittsburgh into the playoffs.
The thought process goes something like, “Well, Patrick Mahomes is great, but his receivers stink. And the Chiefs aren’t nearly as dangerous as Josh Allen and the Bills!”
If you really believe that, my advice to you would be to avoid drug testing at your job or stop sniffing so much glue.
Mahomes is one of the greatest playoff quarterbacks we have ever seen.
He has done things to this point in his career that put him on a path to perhaps finish his career as THE greatest playoff quarterback we have seen.
I don’t care who his receivers are, I don’t care that they all catch like Edward Scissorhands, and I don’t care that Taylor Swift’s boyfriend looks like he is washed up or that the running back room is full of a bunch of guys you never heard of.
I don’t care that Mahomes' wife is apparently a bad tipper or that his brother is a social media moron. The fact remains he is still PATRICK MAHOMES.
The Steelers wanted no part of that trip and wanted no part of trying to stop him, though, because as great as Mahomes is in the regular season, he is on a different level in the postseason.
Just to review: Mahomes is 11-3 in the postseason. He has led the Chiefs at least to the AFC title game five years in a row, has been to the Super Bowl three times, and won it twice. He has 35 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 14 playoff games.
Yeah, please tell me again how the Steelers got a tougher draw having to play in Buffalo than play against that guy. If you believe that, then either you just haven’t been paying attention or you are just being a contrarian—or you are, as I wrote earlier, on the wacky tobaccy.
Throw in the fact that Andy Reid is the best coach in the NFL right now, and Bills coach Sean McDermott has a penchant for making boneheaded decisions at the most critical points of games, and this isn’t even a discussion.
Yeah, give me a playoff game against McDermott and Josh Allen over a game against Reid and Mahomes any day of any year.
One coach and quarterback wins at a high level. The other find ways to lose, and often because of self-inflicted wounds.
And that brings me to the Allen part of this equation: Allen is physically the best player in the NFL when you consider his size, athleticism, arm strength, ability to run and physicality — he has the total package.
He is what they call a freak of nature, and he can also be downright scary for opposing defenses. Allen threw for 4,306 yards (fourth in NFL) and 29 touchdowns (fifth) this season. He also ran for 524 yards and 15 touchdowns, which means he either threw or ran for 44 touchdowns in total.
That is why Allen has been mentioned as an MVP candidate. And though he won’t win it (Lamar Jackson will), I could make a very strong argument that no other player, including Jackson, means as much to their team.
He will no doubt be a handful for the Steelers defense. But he also specializes in boneheaded plays and therefore will help the Steelers defense out as well. It is probably too strong to say he is a prototypical “million-dollar talent, ten-cent head” player, but that isn’t too far off.
And that is precisely why the Steelers would much rather see him than Mahomes lining up on the other side of the line of scrimmage this Sunday.
Allen, at times, appears like he is playing for both teams. He is a turnover machine, throwing 18 interceptions and fumbling seven times this year. That comes on the heels of throwing 14 interceptions and fumbling 13 times last season.
Even on Sunday night, in the Bills’ victory over the Dolphins, the only reason it was even close is because Allen threw two interceptions and fumbled once.
Yes, he has the talent and ability to overcome that, but in the playoffs, the team that wins the turnover battle often wins the game.
I am by no means suggesting this game will be easy for the Steelers. The Bills are a good team and indeed one of the hottest teams in the NFL. Allen is also one of the absolute best quarterbacks in the NFL. Beyond that, he is one of the best players, period.
But when it comes to possible paths to the Super Bowl, there is no question the Steelers’ road is much easier going through Allen and Buffalo than it would have been having to play in Kansas City against Mahomes.
Allen is a special talent, but his penchant for making mistakes and giving the ball to the other team will be an edge for the Steelers and one they would not have enjoyed in Kansas City.
Paul Zeise: pzeise@post-gazette.com or Twitter: @paulzeise
First Published: January 8, 2024, 7:19 p.m.