Wildcat usage leads to disastrous results for Steelers in loss to Bills

According to the NFL’s official play-by-play register, the Pittsburgh Steelers attempted a direct snap to a running back three times during Sunday’s game.

The best of those three plays was a 3-yard loss.

It was that kind of night for the wildcat formation, and troubles with its usage played a significant role in the Steelers’ 17-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

“It’s always about trying to make plays, and we have had success with it in the past,” said running back James Conner, who was the recipient of three direct snaps Sunday. “Something we thought we could do and be successful, and that’s the reason why we do it.”

The Steelers were wildly successful with Jaylen Samuels in the wildcat during their first win of the season Sept. 30 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Since, though, its deployment has been more sporadic, and it has not been not nearly as fruitful.

Now up at #BreakfastWithBenz--The wildcat was a good idea. It worked. Now let’s hope Steelers don’t have to use it again https://t.co/9N5tRowctE @TribSports @TribLIVE

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) October 2, 2019

Against Buffalo, the first time offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner went wildcat, a direct snap to Conner appeared to gain 7 yards, but quarterback Devlin Hodges was flagged for illegal motion, turning that into a 5-yard loss.

The next wildcat play, snapped to Jaylen Samuels, lost 3 yards early in the second quarter.

The third time it was used was by far the worst outcome. Just after the two-minute warning and with the Steelers driving at the Bills 10-yard-line, everything went haywire. Maurkice Pouncey’s snap to Conner was poor, and Conner’s attempted handoff to receiver Diontae Johnson was even worse. The ball popped loose — in part because of a play by Buffalo defensive end Trent Murphy — and the Bills’ Jordan Poyer recovered.

? Pittsburgh en formation Wildcat, snap direct pour le RB James Conner ! Mais Trent Murphy force un fumble de Diontae Johnson, et Jordan Poyer récupère ! #GoBills pic.twitter.com/OFXoTUSF6f

— NFL France - firstdownfr.fr (@SecondDownFR) December 16, 2019

“It was a little bit of a mesh of everything,” Conner said of what went wrong. “Just, (Johnson) didn’t have enough time to secure the ball before the defender got his arm in there.”

Johnson said he never had a clean hold on the ball.

“Just kind of one of those plays where you just have got to react and do what you can and whatnot,” Johnson said. “I tried and just fumbled the ball.”

Johnson said he was not surprised the Steelers ran the wildcat.

“We’d run that a couple times early in year,” he said. “We’ve just got to execute on those plays.”

Coach Mike Tomlin was in no mood to defend the formation’s usage or commit to deploying it in the future.

Asked why the Steelers keep using the wildcat, he said succinctly: “We have been living in that world for weeks. You guys know that.”

The week after Samuels gained big yardage against the Bengals from the wildcat, he threw an interception against the Baltimore Ravens. The wildcat had been used sporadically since then.

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