The Pittsburgh Steelers know that containing Josh Allen will be their biggest and toughest take in their Wild Card Round playoff matchup against the Buffalo Bills, but Steelers safety Eric Rowe thinks he knows the secret on how to throw Allen off his game.
While speaking to Mike Yam on NFL Network this week, Rowe threw a little shot at Allen, who Rowe became very familiar with after spending plenty of time in the AFC East.
“Getting that pressure on him. Obviously, if you let him sit in the pocket, he has arm talent for days, for years,” Rowe said. “He’s mobile. He can run. Getting the pressure on him, getting him flustered [is key]. Going against him every year, he’s a big trash talker. Try to get in his head first. He might not say it flusters him, but it will. So, really just, man, getting that pressure on him, just don’t let him sit back there.”
While Rowe was sure to give Allen credit for his skills, you can bet that Allen and the Bills will remember what Rowe said about trying to get in the quarterback’s head.
Allen entered the league with Buffalo in 2018, and at that point, Rowe was a member of the New England Patriots. He spent the 2019 campaign with the Patriots as well before joining the Miami Dolphins for four seasons, so in Allen’s first five seasons, he saw Rowe twice a year.
Rowe joined the Steelers’ practice squad in late November and ended up starting three games for the team as a replacement for fellow safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who missed some time with a knee injury. During his time on the field, Rowe logged 29 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble.
Fitzpatrick says he will play against the Bills this Sunday, so we will see how much playing time Rowe actually gets. But you can bet Rowe is giving his fellow Pittsburgh defenders pointers on how to deal with Josh Allen.
Rowe, who played his collegiate football at the University of Utah, was originally selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
The Steelers went 9-8 this season.
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