The hot offense continued as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Buffalo Bills 27-15 Saturday night as Acrisure Stadium, moving to 2-0 on the preseason.
The Steelers got the ball first, and it was RB Anthony McFarland Jr. who received the opening kickoff. McFarland took it back just 19 yards to the Pittsburgh 14. RB Najee Harris gained 3 yards on the opening play of the drive, and then Pittsburgh picked up a first down on an 8-yard completion from QB Kenny Pickett to WR George Pickens.
A few plays later on a third and 7 from the Pittsburgh 28, Pickett hit WR Allen Robinson II for a 10-yard gain and a first down. Then, RB Jaylen Warren found an extra gear and ran for 62 yards and a touchdown. K Chris Boswell’s extra point was good, and the Steelers took a 7-0 lead with 12:23 left in the first quarter.
Buffalo’s drive opened at its own 14 following a holding penalty on the kick return, and on the first play of their drive, QB Josh Allen hit TE Dalton Kincaid for eight yards. Following a run for zero yards and an incomplete pass, the Bills were were forced to punt. Calvin Austin III then returned the ensuing punt 54 yards down to the Buffalo 25, giving Pittsburgh great field position.
On the first play after the punt return, Pickett hit TE Pat Freiermuth for a 25-yard touchdown. Boswell’s extra point gave the Steelers a 14-0 lead.
Buffalo was able to pick up some chunk yardage on its next drive, with back-to-back completions of 14 and 15 yards. Following a 1-yard gain by RB James Cook, Buffalo gained another 14 yards on a completion to WR Gabe Davis, which set them up at the Pittsburgh 38.
A block-in-the-back by Buffalo followed by a false start pushed the Bills back to their own 48. Another holding penalty against the Bills negated a 35-yard gain by Davis, and back-to-back runs after a second and 39 forced Buffalo into a punt.
Martin’s punt went just 28 yards due to it being partially blocked by S Miles Killebrew, and Pittsburgh’s third drive, sans the first-team offense, start at its own 25.
Buffalo S Jordan Poyer picked up the Bills’ fifth penalty on a completion to Cody White on third and 8, giving Pittsburgh a first down. On first down, QB Mitch Trubisky hit McFarland on a screen and he picked up 12 yards. The Steelers couldn’t do anything with it though, and P Pressley Harvin III pinned Buffalo at its own 11 following a 36-yard punt.
The Bills went three and out. Pittsburgh started at its own 36 and picked up a first down on a completion to WR Gunner Olszewski, but Trubisky was sacked the next play and the Steelers couldn’t recover, punting from their own 48. Following an illegal formation penalty against the Steelers, the Bills took over at their own 20 with 10:55 left in the first half.
The Bills turned to their backups, with QB Matt Barkley taking over for Josh Allen. The first play of the drive was an 11-yard gain by RB Latavius Murray, and a few plays later on second and 16, Barkley hit Kincaid for a 21-yard gain and a first down. Three plays later, WR Trent Sherfield gained another 21 and a first down, and then Barkley found WR Deonte Harty for 11 yards and another first down.
Two plays later, it was Kincaid again, picking up 16 yards and a first down, but two plays later CB Elijah Riley picked Barkley off in the end zone, and the Steelers took over at their own 20.
After a 12-yard completion for a first down by Trubisky to Austin III, the Bills were flagged for a low block, giving the Steelers an additional 15 yards. After gaining just 1 yard on the ensuing two plays, Trubisky went to Connor Heyward on third and 9 for what appeared to be a 19-yard completion, but it was wiped out by an illegal hands-to-the face penalty by OT Spencer Anderson. On third and 19, Trubisky found Olszewski for a 13-yard gain, but the Steelers were forced to punt. Harvin’s punt traveled 34 yards and pinned the Bills at their 6-yard line.
Murray opened Buffalo’s drive with a 10-yard gain, but then rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. picked off Barkley at the Buffalo 30 and took it back 5 yards to the Buffalo 25. A penalty by the Bills before the pass gave Pittsburgh an additional 10 yards from the Buffalo 3, so they took over at the Bills’ 13-yard line. The Steelers’ offense got great field position with 1:06 left in the half.
A 6-yard scramble by Trubisky set the Steelers up at the Bills’ 7. A defensive pass interference on a pass intended for TE Darnell Washington in the end zone gave the Steelers first and goal at the 1. On first down, McFarland couldn’t punch it in, and on second down, Trubisky was incomplete on a pass to Olszewski. On third down, CB Kaiir Elam was flagged for defensive pass interference against Washington, but McFarland again failed to punch it on first down.
With nine seconds left in the half, the Steelers took their first timeout. On second down McFarland lost 2 yards, but on third down, TE Connor Heyward caught a 3-yard touchdown. Boswell’s extra point put the Steelers up 21-0 with three seconds left in the first half.
Buffalo got the ball to open the second half, but on the second play of the drive Barkley was intercepted by CB Chandon Sullivan, Pittsburgh’s third pick of Barkley. The Steelers took over at the Buffalo 16.
Pittsburgh couldn’t really capitalize off the field position, settling for a field goal. Boswell was good from 35 yards, and the Steelers took a 24-0 lead with 11:47 left in the third quarter.
The Bills had a nice drive going on their ensuing possession, but OLB Nick Herbig strip-sacked Barkley on a play that began at the Pittsburgh 42, and the fumble was recovered by ILB Tanner Muse. Pittsburgh took over at its own 43.
QB Mason Rudolph entered the game and he found RB Xazavian Valladay for a 22-yard gain. A 12-yard scramble on third and 5 by Rudolph gave the Steelers a first down, but they wouldn’t do much else, with the drive stalling at the Buffalo 21. Boswell connected on a 39-yard field goal, and the Steelers went up 27-0.
The following kickoff return was a disaster. Bills RB Darrynton Evans fumbled the kick and Buffalo began the drive at their own 8. On third and 6, QB Kyle Allen hit WR Justin Shorter for 7 yards and a first down, and on third and 3 from the Buffalo 26, Allen went to WR Bryan Thompson for a gain of five and a first down. A few plays later though, the Bills were forced to punt. The Steelers took over at their own 17.
On the third play of the drive, a miscommunication on the snap by C Kendrick Green forced a fumble, and Buffalo DE Kameron Cline recovered it at the Pittsburgh 2. RB Jordan Mims took it in for a 2-yard touchdown on the first play of Buffalo’s drive, and they cut the Steelers lead to 27-7 with 13:16 left in the game.
After a touchback on the kickoff, RB Greg Bell picked up 8 yards on the first play of the drive. On third and 4 from the Pittsburgh 42, Rudolph hit Olszewski for a 13-yard gain down to the Buffalo 45, but the Steelers didn’t have much else going for them. Following a punt by Harvin, the Steelers pinned the Bills at their 10 with 7:57 left in the game.
Evans had two nice runs, running for 10 yards and then nine yards on the first two plays of the drive. Buffalo wasn’t able to pick up another first down, and Sam Martin punted to Gunner Olszewski, who returned the punt for 15 yards to the Pittsburgh 41.
Undrafted free agent QB Tanner Morgan took over for the Steelers, but they went three and out.
Harvin again pinned Buffalo inside the 10, and the Bills took over at their own 8. They picked up a first down on a seven-yard run by Mims, and a few plays later Mims picked up 13 yards on a reception. Allen then went to former Steelers TE Jace Sternberger for 27 yards, wiping out an illegal contact penalty against Pittsburgh CB Lavert Hill.
Two plays later, Allen hit WR Justin Shorter for a 17-yard touchdown with 54 seconds left. Buffalo went for two after the Steelers were flagged for too many men on the field, and Evans ran up the gut and completed the two-point conversion. The Steelers’ lead was cut to 27-15.
After the kickoff, Pittsburgh went into victory formation and Tanner Morgan kneeled. The Steelers closed out the 27-15 win to open up the preseason 2-0. They close out the preseason on Thursday night on the road against the Atlanta Falcons.
