Kenny Pickett's comments about the Steelers being massive underdogs apparently touched a nerve for Bills linebacker Von Miller. The Bills are 14-point favorites entering Sunday's game against Pittsburgh. It is the first time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger that the Steelers have been two-touchdown underdogs.
Miller went into a one-minute diatribe after reading some of Pickett's quotes about the Steelers being historic underdogs. Miller, a 12-year veteran who has been on both sides of surprising outcomes throughout his career, is clearly not buying the underdog narrative.
"Who thinks you're an underdog, bud?" Miller said on Reddit, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Like, geez, Kenny. Stop it, Kenny! Don't try to get crazy on us, man. Just come in and play the game.
"Why's he looking at the spread? Nobody looks at the spread of the game. Like, nobody's looking at none of that. We're just getting ready to play the Steelers. Don't try to get fake mad. Don't try to get crazy on us. Nobody thinks you're underdogs, Kenny. Don't do it."
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For context, here's what Pickett said this week when asked about being such a big underdog entering his first NFL start.
"You guys, everyone else thinks we're underdogs. We don't, so we're gonna go in there with some confidence. We know how great we can be when we're detailed and we execute at a high level. That's something that we need to take care of during the week or we won't have a shot.
"It's the details. It's the little things. Guys running at the right depth. I've got to be on time, give a great ball, (and) they'll make the plays. The line will protect; they've been doing an unbelievable job all year. So I have a ton of confidence in those guys. So it's really everyone doing their (job) and we'll be OK."
It's odd that Pickett's comments ruffled Miller's feathers to the point where he decided to go on a one-minute rant on social media. Pickett didn't guarantee a victory. Instead, he talked about how he and his teammates needed to have a sterling practice week in order to "have a shot" at defeating a Bills team that many prognosticators have already put in February's Super Bowl.
Regardless, Miller made a good point during his response to Pickett's comments. Anything can happen during a given day in the NFL, especially in today's salary cap/free agency era. Miller knows that as well as anyone. He was part of the Broncos' team that upset the heavily-favored Steelers in the wild card round of the 2011 playoffs. Conversely, Miller was on the losing end of Seattle's upset win over Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII before Miller's Broncos pulled off an upset over the Panthers in Super Bowl 50.
Miller will try to avoid being
