I know fans don’t like to hear it. With so much focus on offense and defense, special teams value gets lost in the shuffle. But as the saying goes, if you’re not starting on your side of the ball, you better start on special teams. In the preseason opener, Pittsburgh played its special teams backups. Last night against Buffalo, they deployed their starters with WR Miles Boykin and S Miles Killebrew reminding why they’re on this squad.
Killebrew got things started with a partial punt block of Bills punter Sam Martin. Watch him from his “left end spot” at the 47-yard line attacking No. 3, the right wing of the punt protection team. He bulls through him and with a slow operation on the punt, he’s able to stick his hand in there to get a piece of the football.
It turns into just a 28-yard punt that’s downed at the Steelers’ 25. It’s good field position considering the Bills were punting from their 47, a spot where they’re looking to pin the Steelers inside the 10. That’s a solid 15 yards of field position gained. Underrated play.
Late in the first half, the Steelers were punting from the Bills’ 40. The ball landed inside the 5 and WR Miles Boykin, the right gunner on this play ensures the ball does not bounce into the end zone, diving and bating it backwards. Long snapper Christian Kuntz lands on the ball and it’s officially downed at the 6-yard line. Tremendous effort by Boykin here in preseason play.
Two players later, Bills QB Matt Barkley throws a pick to Joey Porter Jr., which the Steelers turn into a Connor Heyward touchdown to go up 21-0 at the half. If Boykin doesn’t back Buffalo up, there’s probably no Porter interception and no Heyward touchdown.
That’s why special teams matter. They dictate were drives start. For Killebrew, he gave the offense improved field position. For Boykin, he gave the Bills worse field position. Those plays fall into the category of “hidden yardage,” and they’re why Boykin and Killebrew are poised to make the 53-man roster.
After the game, Mike Tomlin spoke about the team’s rapid special teams turnover from last season.
“We gotta acknowledge that we’re kind of turning over the guts or the core of our ‘teams,’ if you will,” he said via the team’s YouTube channel. “Guys like Derek Watt and Marcus Allen and Robert Spillane aren’t part of us anymore. So we are working with an edge in that space.”
And that doesn’t even mention RB Benny Snell Jr., a core special teamer as the team’s third-string back. Boykin and Killebrew are holdovers from that past group. Others around them have to emerge, guys like LB Tanner Muse or someone like TE Connor Heyward growing his game there, and WR Dez Fitzpatrick had a solid tackle last night, but Boykin and Killebrew should stick as core guys not on offense or defense but on special teams.
