A new era in Pittsburgh Steelers football begins Sunday, as rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett will make his first NFL start. Unfortunately for the Pitt product, he gets a tough test right out of the gate on the road against the odds-on favorite to win Super Bowl LVI: the Buffalo Bills.
The Bills have the No. 1 defense in the NFL in terms of yards allowed per game, and the No. 3 overall offense. Caesars Sportsbook currently has Buffalo as 14-point favorites over Pittsburgh. One of the players who will be looking to make life tough on Pickett in his first career start is star pass-rusher Von Miller.
While Miller is now 33 years old, his production hasn't slowed. In fact, he inked a six-year, $120 million deal with the Bills this offseason after helping the Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl last year. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin found an interesting way to describe Miller on Tuesday, saying that he's just simply not from this planet.
"He's Von Miller. Some guys are aliens visiting from another planet and that's just the reality of it," Tomlin said, via Pro Football Talk. "Man, in the National Football League, you've got to respect all these guys -- they're all freaky. But some guys are even freaky in our setting. And he's just one of those guys. He always has been since he came out of [Texas] A&M, moving changing and running like a corner.
"He needs no endorsement from me. His resume is his resume. Kudos to Von Miller. Tip of the cap to Von Miller."
Miller has a hall-of-fame resume, as he was named Super Bowl 50 MVP, was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year when he entered the league in 2011, and has been named an All-Pro seven times. Miller has certainly made an impact on Buffalo's defense through four games, as he's recorded seven combined tackles and three sacks to go along with two passes defensed. The alleged extraterrestrial will be looking to feast on Pittsburgh's offensive line Sunday and rattle the rookie QB's cage.
