There was a lot to like on the part of the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out of last Saturday’s 27-15 win over the Buffalo Bills in preseason action at Acrisure Stadium.
The starting offense looked dominant, the first-team defense looked rather strong in its first action of the summer, and young players stepped up and made plays throughout the game, leading to the dominant win.
For veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson, who made his Steelers debut against the Bills, a trio of players stood out in his mind, earning them standouts of the week during a segment on the latest episode of his podcast “All Thing Covered” with cousin and former Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden.
Peterson highlighted second-year running back Jaylen Warren as his offensive standout of the week. He gave the moment of the week to second-year wide receiver Calvin Austin III for his big punt return while shouting out veteran special teams standout Miles Killebrew in the process.
It’s no surprise that Peterson gave love to Warren after the backup running back ripped off a 62-yard touchdown against the Bills on the first drive of the game.
“I’ve seen him put together such great productivity in practice in training camp and to see it all kind of to fruition for him, it was amazing to see,” Peterson said regarding Warren as his offensive standout, according to video via the All Things Covered YouTube page.
Warren has had a very good training camp and preseason. Against the Bills his one touch went 62 yards to the end zone and showed off his game-breaking speed in the process. Prior to his breakout against the Bills, Warren looked good against Tampa Bay in the preseason opener as well, ripping off a 10-yard run in which he broke multiple tackles against the Buccaneers.
That was a carryover from training camp for Warren.
According to Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora, Warren rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 39 carries (3.9 yards per carry). He did have a fumble in training camp, but overall Warren outperformed Najee Harris throughout camp. Kozora gave Warren a training camp grade of ‘B’ stating that Warren had a “solid” but unspectacular camp.
The touchdown run on Saturday was spectacular and could lead to more touches in the regular season for the former UDFA.
As for the moment of the week for Peterson, it was Austin’s electrifying 54-yard punt return that set up quarterback Kenny Pickett’s 25-yard strike to tight end Pat Freiermuth on the next play to give the Steelers a 14-0 lead.
“I know [Austin] didn’t score, but I said this last week. I’m looking for special teams to make big splash plays and Miles [Killebrew] had a tip on the … on the punt block team,” Peterson said. “So the things that you asked that I wanted to see coming into this game, those guys, you saw it, were able to make it happen on special teams.”
Austin’s punt return ignited the Steelers, continuing positive momentum after an impressive opening drive.
Though he was largely untouched, Austin showed off the game-breaking speed that helped him be an electrifying player in college and created a short field for the Steelers offense, leading to a quick touchdown. That’s great complementary football, and the Steelers need more of that moving forward.
On Buffalo’s very next punt, Killebrew tipped the ball, leading to a shorter punt and keeping Buffalo from pinning the Steelers back deep, instead allowing the offense to start at its own 25-yard line.
Little things like that show up on tape, and teammates love it. Kudos to Peterson for shouting out Killebrew for the tip on the punt.
Hopefully things continue to roll forward in a positive fashion for the Steelers as the vibes are high coming out of the second preseason matchup against the Bills. A lot to like overall.
