The Bills are getting ready for their second straight road game on ten days of rest. Week 13 features a matchup against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.
Here are five storylines to get you ready for Sunday.
1. Getting back to winning on the road
Buffalo hasn't stacked wins on the road like they have at home this season. They're 2-3 on the road in 2025. After falling in Week 12, the Bills aren't returning home just yet. They face the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 4:25 p.m. and have a few extra days to rest and recover from Thursday night's loss at the Texans. Pittsburgh is currently 4-2 at home in 2025.
"When you go on the road, you've got to be road warriors and you've gotta have that type of mindset," Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. "And that's really what we have to do is get ourselves ready to play our best football."
This is the second time in 2025 that the Bills face the road two games in a row. In between the loss to Atlanta and win over Carolina, though, they had a full bye week in between. Their recovery time in between back-to-back road games is dwindling. Weeks 15 and 16 will conclude Buffalo's road series of the season – both games slated for 1 p.m. on their respective Sundays.
Taking advantage of the bye week earlier in the season, the Bills proved they can bounce back. Sunday will be a test as to whether Buffalo can do the same without a full week in between.
When it comes to the right attitude to approaching road games, defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said it's about focusing on what's most important.
"We certainly love going to hostile environments," Babich said. "I think our guys embrace that, but we just keep the main thing, the main thing...certainly going to be a challenge going in there. And Pittsburgh's one of the founding organizations of the NFL and their fans are certainly great, but we're just focused on us and our execution, our level of play, style of play."
Only one AFC East opponent remains on the away game board for Buffalo: New England. The Bills lost to the Patriots at home in Week 5 and are trailing behind them in the division. New England holds a 10-2 record to Buffalo's 7-4.
Pittsburgh is a precursor to the battle against the Patriots with one home game separating the two. Getting back in the win column on Sunday would give the Bills a boost of confidence in silencing a loud stadium before they head to Gillette Stadium for Week 15.
2. Aaron Rodgers' status for Week 13
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers fractured his left wrist during Week 11's game against the Bengals. The QB pushed to play for Week 12 against the Chicago Bears but did not go. The staff made the decision that he would not play on Saturday before the game.
The Steelers expect to get the veteran QB back for Sunday's game against the Bills.
"I anticipate him being ready for next week," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said after their loss to Chicago. "It was a prudent decision to make. Certainly, it wasn't a fluid week for him. It was a fluid week for Mason (Rudolph) in terms of reps and so forth.
"So, I think it will be in our rearview as we move forward. I'm hopeful of that."
Week 12 is the only week Rodgers has missed so far this season. The 21-year veteran is completing 66.4% (19th) of his passes for 1,969 passing yards on the season. He ranks top five in passing touchdowns with 21.
Rodgers and his offense rely on the quick passing game and yards after catch to move the ball. He averages the second fastest time to throw at 2.76 seconds. They have the third most yards after catch with 1,539. This type of play has allowed them to average 24.91 points per game (11th) and 292.2 total yards per game (27th).
3. Learning from Week 12
The Bills are looking to learn from Week 12 by getting back in the win column in Week 13. Buffalo has traded wins and losses the last four games dating back to their win against the Chiefs on November 2.
In terms of finding consistent play, Bills head coach Sean McDermott said the team's preparation week to week has been very consistent and it's about trying to find that consistency in games.
"You're going to unfortunately have some performances where you perform really well, and other ones where it drops a little bit," McDermott said. "You don't want that. I don't want that. But for us it's finding consistency in the performance week to week regardless of the opponent."
Offensively, the Bills want to get back to taking care of the football as they've had nine turnovers in the last three games.
"We've turned the ball over the last few weeks, and that's obviously not a recipe for success," offensive coordinator Joe Brady said. "But when you look at the games that we've lost, we've had opportunities despite how badly or how poorly we might have played on offense in those games, we've had opportunities in the end…We make it a lot harder on ourselves when we're turning the ball over."
Having more winning opportunities within a game is what the Bills want to put on display on Sunday. The group is still averaging 28.3 points per game (5th) with the best rushing offense in the league (average 147.2 rushing yards per game). Despite a tough game against Houston, McDermott believes in Buffalo's offense.
"We've got a good offensive staff. They'll continue to put together a plan each week that allows us to win and play our best," McDermott said. "And I just believe in those guys, I really do. And they've had success in years past…That doesn't mean that we don't have to make adjustments, however. Obviously, we've got to continue to make adjustments week to week."
Bills legend and radio analyst Eric Wood appeared on One Bills Live this week to discuss what he wants to see out of the Bills moving forward. Wood said it's all about finding plays that keep drives alive.
"To me it's finding some of those scheme throws, those quick hitters on first-and-10, second to medium and long, finding those ones that get you close to the sticks and keep you on schedule," Wood said of what he wants to see out of Buffalo. "And then ultimately guys got to make plays. Josh (Allen) has to make plays with his arms and guys have to make plays out here for him like we saw against the Bucs and other times this year."
Wood said he feels confident that the Pittsburgh game can be a rebound game for the offense.
4. Defense coming out of the gate with attitude
Against the Texans, Buffalo's defense allowed over 200 yards in the first half and 20 points. In the second half, the Bills cut that down to 60 net yards and three points. In Week 11 against Tampa Bay, the defense allowed 231 yards and 20 points in the first half then halted the Buccaneers to 136 yards and 12 points in the second half.
"We made adjustments at halftime, led by Bobby (Babich) and the defensive staff, and really calmed things down," head coach Sean McDermott said of the second-half changes against Houston. "Players adjusted and embraced the adjustments and went out and we gave up 60 yards total on defense in the second half...I couldn't have been more happy with the way that they played in the second half. That's where we have to continue to go and build this identity as a defense in what we saw with that second half."
Defensive coordinator Bobby Babich wants to find consistency in strong second half performances in comparison to their respective first halves.
"We're trying to make sure we're finding the answer to mimic that in the first half … Every game's different in the first half, but there's flashes of what we're doing in the second half in the first half," Babich said on Friday after Thursday night's game.
"We had a discussion [on Friday] about still being intentional, intentional of finding why the rhythm is happening in the second half and we need to start faster … just finding consistency really is what it comes down to in the first half, and we're working hard to do that as we have been throughout the year … we got to be playing our best ball at the end of the year."
Alongside coming out hot in the first half, Babich emphasized cleaning up two-minute drives and keeping opponents off the board to end the half. Against both Houston and Tampa Bay, the Bills allowed a touchdown and field goal, respectively, under the two-minute warning.
Running back Ray Davis ran nearly the whole length of the field on a kickoff return at the end of the first half against the Texans, which put the defense back on the field quickly. Houston charged down the field in about 1:30, scoring a touchdown and leaving just five seconds left of the second quarter.
"That drive right there really irked us because that's not who we are in two minute," Babich said of Houston's touchdown drive. "We take pride in being closer and closing the half or closing the game, and it was really just a combination of a couple different things … it was really some uncharacteristic things that occurred in that two minute drive that really haven't showed up in a long time. So, good reset, good refresh for us there as far as that goes, but we don't give up points in two minute. That's what we preach, that's what we emphasize and we spend time on it."
Moving forward, Babich and his defense look to carry over their recent second-half successes and put together a full four-quarter performance as they progress in the 2025 season.
5. A look at the Steelers
Pittsburgh fell 31-28 to Chicago in Week 12. With 1:29 left in the game, the Steelers couldn't break past the Bears' 47-yard-line and turned the ball over on downs. Quarterback Caleb Williams took a knee with 17 seconds on the clock to end the game. Both teams started the fourth quarter off with a touchdown a piece, but were stalled the remainder of the game.
Powered by backup quarterback Mason Rudolph, Pittsburgh's offense accumulated 186 yards on the ground and 171 yards in the pass game.
Running backs Kenneth Gainwell and Jaylen Warren were responsible for 160 rushing yards combined. Heading into Sunday, the Bills' defense is 30th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (143.9) and 31st in yards allowed per rush (5.3).
On the season, Pittsburgh's rushing offense has been near the bottom of the pack averaging 97 rushing yards per game (27th).
When it comes to their passing offense, the Steelers are 22nd averaging 195 passing yards per game. Their biggest producer has been wide receiver D.K. Metcalf as he leads the team with 42 catches for 573 yards and has scored five touchdowns. He also has 321 yards after catch, which ranks top 10 among receivers.
Buffalo's No. 1 defense in pass yards allowed per game (168.2) will aim to halt Aaron Rodgers' success back from injury. The Bills also have the seventh best defense in pass yards allowed per attempt (6.7).
On the opposite side of the ball, quarterback Josh Allen and his offense won't be up against the top defense in the country as they were in Week 12. The Steelers are 31st in the NFL in pass yards allowed per game (258.7) and 18th in pass yards allowed per attempt (7.1). They rank in the middle of the pack in rush yards allowed per game (15th with 105.7) and yards per rush (16th with 4.2).
ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky believes the Bills can take advantage of Pittsburgh's weaknesses.
"It's a secondary that just has not played at a high level," Orlovsky said on One Bills Live. "I would tell you (also) as a run defense has not played at a high level. The more you motion and run the football at the same time, you can rip off runs against this defense. There's a lot schematically you can take advantage of."
Buffalo still has the best rushing offense in the league averaging 147 yards per game and the ninth best passing offense averaging 235 yards per game. In order to bounce back from Week 12, offensive coordinator Joe Brady emphasized positive first downs and limiting quarterback hits and sacks to do so.
"[Allen] got hit too much," Brady said. "And that's not a recipe for any success."
