The Pittsburgh Steelers got out to a fast start and never looked back against the Buffalo Bills, coming away with a 27-15 victory.
Offensive spotlight: The Steelers' first-team offense was supposed to get a solid run out in this game but was on the sideline halfway through the first quarter after putting up 14 points, albeit aided by a short field. Kenny Pickett completed three of four attempts for 43 yards, including a perfect pass up the seam that was the entirety of the offense’s second scoring drive. Pickett put it perfectly on tight end Pat Freiermuth after a big Calvin Austin III return had set the offense up with a short field. The Steelers' starting offense has looked outstanding so far in the preseason.
Defensive spotlight: The Buffalo first-team defense saw a solid amount of playing time (20 snaps) but wasn’t able to slow down the Steelers' offense. Taron Johnson, Matt Milano, Tre’Davious White, Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde each saw 20 snaps, and Hyde made the most notable contribution of the group, notching a couple of defensive stops and three tackles. The Bills' secondary was banged up all last season, and they would like to see it performing better than this when healthy.
Rookie spotlight: It was a tight end showcase for much of the game. Dalton Kincaid had a couple of very nice plays, breaking wide open over the middle against the Steelers' second-team defense and totaling three catches for 45 yards on four targets. Kincaid averaged 3.46 yards per route run and looked like a formidable receiving weapon. On the other side of the ball, Darnell Washington wasn’t as successful but drew a penalty in the end zone when his size became too much for the Bills to handle.
Offensive line spotlight: The Bills' starting offensive line had its hands full with Pittsburgh’s pass rush. Josh Allen was under pressure on more than 40% of his dropbacks, and three out of the five starters had multiple plays in which they struggled. The Steelers have an elite starting group when it comes to pass rushers, but the Bills are a team that expects to be playing January football, and this is the standard required.
Box Score
Passing
Buffalo Bills |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Kyle Allen | 8.48 | 12 / 15 | 112 | 7.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Josh Allen | 1.96 | 7 / 10 | 64 | 6.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Barkley | -0.28 | 7 / 12 | 93 | 7.8 | 0 | 3 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Mitch Trubisky | 8.42 | 10 / 13 | 78 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Kenny Pickett | 5.72 | 3 / 4 | 43 | 10.8 | 1 | 0 |
| Mason Rudolph | 2.28 | 5 / 7 | 52 | 7.4 | 0 | 0 |
Rushing
Buffalo Bills |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Jordan Mims | 11.9 | 4 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 14 |
| Darrynton Evans | 5.7 | 6 | 25 | 4.2 | 0 | 10 |
| Latavius Murray | 4 | 6 | 26 | 4.3 | 0 | 11 |
| Josh Allen | 1.96 | 1 | -6 | -6 | 0 | -6 |
| James Cook | 0.3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Jaylen Warren | 12.2 | 1 | 62 | 62 | 1 | 62 |
| Gunner Olszewski | 9.5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Mitch Trubisky | 8.42 | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | 7 |
| Anthony McFarland Jr. | 4 | 9 | 2 | 0.2 | 0 | 2 |
| Xazavian Valladay | 3.6 | 5 | 4 | 0.8 | 0 | 3 |
| Greg Bell | 3.3 | 7 | 17 | 2.4 | 0 | 8 |
Receiving
Buffalo Bills |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Justin Shorter | 15.7 | 6 | 5 | 47 | 7.8 | 1 |
| Jordan Mims | 11.9 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 |
| Dalton Kincaid | 7.5 | 4 | 3 | 45 | 11.2 | 0 |
| Darrynton Evans | 5.7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Gabe Davis | 4.9 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 0 |
| Stefon Diggs | 4.2 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 4.4 | 0 |
| Latavius Murray | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Jace Sternberger | 3.7 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 27 | 0 |
| Deonte Harty | 3.2 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| Trent Sherfield | 3.1 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 21 | 0 |
| Bryan Thompson | 3.1 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 3.7 | 0 |
| Andy Isabella | 2.9 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 9.5 | 0 |
| Tyrell Shavers | 1.7 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3.5 | 0 |
| Joel Wilson | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Quintin Morris | 1.3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 |
| Khalil Shakir | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Pat Freiermuth | 9.5 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 25 | 1 |
| Gunner Olszewski | 9.5 | 7 | 5 | 41 | 5.9 | 0 |
| Connor Heyward | 9.2 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 1 |
| Anthony McFarland Jr. | 4 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 9 | 0 |
| Xazavian Valladay | 3.6 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 22 | 0 |
| Greg Bell | 3.3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Calvin Austin III | 2.2 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| Allen Robinson II | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| George Pickens | 1.8 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Zach Gentry | 1.7 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Cody White | 1.6 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| Darnell Washington | 1.6 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
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