NFL

Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers

· National Football League
1-1, 1-0 Away
Final
9 - 3
0-2, 0-2 Home

Russell Wilson slogs through a rusty preseason debut. Josh Allen sits as Bills top Steelers 9-3

So while Wilson was less than thrilled after his first five series with the Pittsburgh Steelers produced little in a 9-3 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night, he also was hardly concerned.

Pittsburgh's offense has so many new parts — from offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to a pair of quarterbacks in Wilson and Justin Fields to rookie center Zack Frazier — that it's going to take time to figure things out.

“So there are a lot of good (things) that goes unseen sometimes,” Wilson said. “And there’s some things that, we also have to fix and get right. And so that’s the diligence that we have to have.”

There's certainly plenty for the Steelers to work on after another shaky offensive performance, particularly by a line that allowed four sacks and 10 quarterback hits, making it tough for Wilson or Fields to get going.

“We didn’t do a good enough job protecting the quarterback,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “That can’t be a problem for us. We’ve got to be better than we were tonight in that area.”

The 35-year-old Wilson, slowed by a calf injury for much of training camp, completed 8 of 10 passes for 47 yards. He also took three sacks during five scoreless series.

Wilson’s longest completion went for 12 yards, and that was on a little flip to running back Jaylen Warren, who did most of the work on the play. The downfield passing that’s one of the reasons the Steelers took a flyer on the nine-time Pro Bowler never materialized, though George Pickens almost made an acrobatic grab down the sideline in the second quarter.

Fields fared marginally better, finishing 11 of 17 for 92 yards. He also ran for a team-high 42 yards, showcasing the versatility that led the Steelers (0-2) to trade for him in March, though he was also stopped for a loss on a fourth-down run in the third quarter that ended a scoring threat and threw incomplete on fourth down at the Buffalo 20 in the final minutes.

“We got into the red zone a couple of times,” Fields said. “But I think next week we’re just going to have to turn those drives into points.”

Tyler Bass kicked three field goals for the Bills (1-1), who were more engaged against Pittsburgh than during a lifeless loss to Chicago last week, even with Josh Allen watching from the sideline.

Buffalo coach Sean McDermott kept his franchise quarterback out of the lineup following a pregame thunderstorm that made the field slick and forced fans to clear the stands twice.

Mitch Trubisky started and completed 9 of 13 passes for 86 yards while getting booed in the stadium where he played his home games the previous two years. Buffalo ran for 169 yards against a Steelers defense that played without star linebacker T.J. Watt, who was given the night off.

Greg Rousseau had 2 1/2 sacks for the Bills. Undrafted rookie free agent linebacker Joe Andreessen — a Buffalo-area native who played at the University of Buffalo — had 12 tackles to make a case he deserves a longer look, particularly with starter Matt Milano out indefinitely with a torn biceps.

“When a young guy gets an opportunity and he makes the most of it, it’s fun to watch,” McDermott said. “Especially a local guy.”

INJURIES

Bills: Marquez Valdes-Scantling, one of several wide receivers looking for playing time, exited in the first half with a neck injury. Trubisky (knee), TE Quintin Morris (shoulder) and DT Austin Johnson (calf) also left early.

Steelers: RB Jaylen Warren tweaked his hamstring in the first half and did not return. Rookie LB Payton Wilson exited in the second half with a concussion.

UP NEXT

Bills: Host Carolina next Saturday.

Steelers: At Detroit next Saturday.

How can I watch Bills vs. Steelers?

  • TV Channel: Bills at Steelers 2021-22 NFL, week 3 is broadcasted nationally on NFL Net and NFL+.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
    In Canada, viewers can watch Bills vs. Steelers on DAZN.

Scoring Summary

BUF FG 2nd Period 2:10 Tyler Bass 27 Yd Field Goal
PIT FG 2nd Period 0:03 Chris Boswell 43 Yd Field Goal
BUF FG 3rd Period 10:23 Tyler Bass 26 Yd Field Goal
BUF FG 4th Period 9:07 Tyler Bass 31 Yd Field Goal

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/pit.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPIT
14 1st Downs 13
4 Passing 1st downs 8
9 Rushing 1st downs 5
1 1st downs from penalties 0
2-10 3rd down efficiency 4-13
0-0 4th down efficiency 0-3
55 Total Plays 58
245 Total Yards 219
4.5 Yards per Play 3.8
11 Total Drives 10
78 Passing 113
12/18 Comp/Att 19/27
3.7 Yards per pass 3.6
1 Interceptions thrown 0
3-28 Sacks-Yards Lost 4-26
167 Rushing 106
34 Rushing Attempts 27
4.9 Yards per rush 3.9
0-3 Red Zone (Made-Att) 0-2
8-50 Penalties 6-50
1 Turnovers 0
0 Fumbles lost 0
1 Interceptions thrown 0
0 Defensive / Special Teams TDs 0
29:28 Possession 30:32
Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Ryan Watts, CB Questionable Feb 12
Logan Lee, DT Questionable Feb 12
DeMarvin Leal, DE Questionable Feb 12
Cameron Johnston, P Questionable Feb 12
Troy Fautanu, OT Questionable Feb 12
Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Michael Hoecht, LB Suspension Mar 14
Larry Ogunjobi, DT Suspension Mar 14
Baylon Spector, LB Questionable Feb 10
Travis Clayton, OT Questionable Feb 10
Shane Buechele, QB Questionable Feb 10

Game Information

Acrisure Stadium

Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Attendance: 64,727 · Capacity:

2024 AFC East Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Buffalo 13 4 .765 0 525 368
Miami 8 9 .471 0 345 364
New York 5 12 .294 0 338 404
New England 4 13 .235 0 289 417

2024 AFC North Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Baltimore 12 5 .706 0 518 361
Pittsburgh 10 7 .588 0 380 347
Cincinnati 9 8 .529 0 472 434
Cleveland 3 14 .176 0 258 435
Full Standings

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