Well, that was certainly a preseason football game that the Pittsburgh Steelers played Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills, if we can call it that.
Another sloppy performance from the Steelers, this time in a 9-3 loss to the Bills, dropping Pittsburgh to 0-2 in the preseason. The last time Pittsburgh lost its first two preseason games? They won two playoff games and reached the AFC Championship Game in 2016.
Positives…
Outside of that, there aren’t many from the performance against the Bills. Second-year outside linebacker Nick Herbig and second-year defensive lineman Keeanu Benton looked fantastic as did veteran defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi.
Justin Fields made some magic happen in the second half with the backups, and wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick quietly continues to push for a roster spot.
But there was a lot of ugly Saturday night — again. Let’s check out some grades.
QB — C-
It’s hard to really try and judge Russell Wilson in his Steelers debut, considering he was under siege from the jump behind an offensive line that was a mess in pass protection.
Wilson completed his first throw of the night for 4 yards to Van Jefferson. He later hit Jefferson for a gain of 11 yards over the middle to convert for a first down, but much of the night was centered on checkdowns from Wilson as he tried to get the ball out quick or took advantage of yardage underneath on third and longs due to sacks that put the Steelers behind schedule.
Wilson was 8-of-10 for 47 yards on the night and was sacked three times. A rough showing from the offense that hindered Wilson’s debut.
Justin Fields played the entire second half and showed flashes, completing 11-of-17 passes for 92 yards. He made a beautiful play in the fourth quarter where he avoided a sack, scrambled to his left and threw a dart to Dez Fitzpatrick to move the chains. He also had a 20-yard run and an 8-yard run on a read-option that moved the chains.
But he made some tough decisions on read-options on possession downs that led to turnovers on downs for the Steelers. He utilized his legs a bit more in this game, but the offense could muster just three points.
RB — C+
Despite running behind an offensive line that struggled much of the night, I liked what I saw from the running backs, for the most part.
Najee Harris had 17 yards on four carries and looked like he was hitting the line of scrimmage with more burst than he has shown in the past. That’s very intriguing. He’s run into issues at times when he’s been too patient getting the ball and finding the hole, but if he’s getting the ball and hitting it, look out.
La’Mical Perine really caught my attention. He busted a couple of nice runs off left tackle, turning the corner against the Bills. He finished with just 20 yards on six carries, but on back-to-back runs in the second half, he caught my attention in a positive way.
Aaron Shampklin flashed, too, showing off some power in short-yardage situations. He finished with four carries for 15 yards. With Jonathan Ward out with a hamstring injury and with Jaylen Warren exiting with a hamstring injury, Shampklin was the first running back off the bench behind Harris and Warren against the Bills. That seems noteworthy.
Daijun Edwards had just two carries for six yards, though one was an 8-yarder in which he broke a couple of tackles. I like his skill set, but he’s just not getting consistent enough work and is staring down a pivotal final preseason game next week.
WR — C-
Dez Fitzpatrick continues to make a strong case for a spot on the Steelers’ 53-man roster. He had two catches for 32 yards on the night and made a terrific concentration catch along the sidelines on the end of Justin Fields’ scramble play, firing up the Steelers’ sideline.
He made a special teams tackle, too, and continues to show up in a positive way.
Outside of Fitzpatrick, Van Jefferson had three catches for 19 yards. His 11-yard reception over the middle from Russell Wilson was a positive sign in the passing game with Wilson hitting the intermediate area of the field over the middle. But that was about it. George Pickens had just one catch for four yards.
Scotty Miller finished with a quiet three catches for 18 yards, which was a far cry from what he did a week ago. Jaray Jenkins and Duece Watts finished with one catch for five yards each.
T.J. Luther blew his chance at making a significant impact play late in the game, jumping way too early, stopping his post route on a ball from Fields in the end zone that should have been a touchdown. Rough look.
TE — D
Connor Heyward had a solid night again, finishing with two catches for 20 yards, including a schemed-up 15-yard catch-and-run on a misdirection from Fields, leaping over a defender at the end of the play. When he’s been given opportunities in the passing game, he’s made them. That’s not a surprise.
Pat Freiermuth had one catch for 10 yards, taking a checkdown from Wilson in the first quarter. He didn’t really show much juice after the catch for the second straight week.
I liked the work MyCole Pruitt did on his one catch for nine yards, moving the chains. He settled in a soft spot for Fields and showed his numbers with his quarterback scrambling around. Smart tight end.
But overall, for the second straight week in a TE friendly offense under Arthur Smith, the TE group left much to be desired.
OL — F
What a disastrous performance.
Second-year tackle Broderick Jones was an absolute mess, allowing two sacks and multiple pressures. He played with poor pad level, lacked any sort of power in his punch and his hand usage was as bad as it gets. There’s a lot to be concerned about with Jones’ performance, which led to three sacks of Russell Wilson in the first half.
There were some solid moments in the run game from rookie center Zach Frazier and rookie guard Mason McCormick, but the positives for the offensive line were too few and far between.
Late in the game, the tackle tandem of Anderson Hardy and Devery Hamilton put Justin Fields under far too much duress. The offensive line just really struggled overall, which is really concerning. They’ve been physical and controlled the line of scrimmage all training camp, earning praise from coaches and teammates, but it hasn’t exactly shown up in-stadium just yet.
DL — B-
The first-team group of Larry Ogunjobi and Keeanu Benton looked outstanding against the Bills. Ogunjobi played the run well, had a nice run stop on third and short to force a punt, and had a clean rip move to win as a pass rusher. He should have had the sack, but missed, leading to Nick Herbig and Benton cleaning it up.
Benton was a force on the interior, recording two tackles and a half a sack and adding two quarterback hits. He’s in for a monster second season.
Outside of those two up front, the defensive line got pushed around too often by the Bills.
Buffalo ran for 167 yards on the night and averaged nearly 5 yards per carry. The Bills did largely whatever they wanted on the ground in the second half. It was good to see Montravius Adams and DeMarvin Leal run to the football and chase down a screen for a short gain, but not much to write home about outside of that for the depth pieces.
Jacob Slade led all Steelers DL with three tackles.
LB — B+
Nick Herbig appears in midseason form and had a whale of a game against the Bills.
Starting in place of T.J. Watt, who was a late scratch due to the weather, Herbig had five tackles in the first quarter, including 1.5 sacks, and made some plays on special teams, too. He played with his hair on fire and was arguably the best player for the Steelers on the night.
Not much to write home about for Patrick Queen in his Steelers debut. He had two tackles, and veteran Elandon Roberts added three tackles in limited action on the inside.
I was really impressed by Mark Robinson against the Bills. He was outplayed by UDFA Jacoby Windmon last week, but this week was an entirely different player, recording six tackles, playing the run very well and making some plays in coverage in the flat. He had a big hit on special teams, too. He’s making a case for a roster spot again.
Nice to see Germany native Julius Welschof rewarded for his hard work against the Bills, recording a sack late in the game. Teammates were fired up for him. He’s been around the football quite a bit in his first two preseason games. Intriguing practice squad stash.
DB — B
Another week, another solid performance for Ryan Watts. He tied for a team high with six tackles in the loss and was around the football quite a bit again, especially on special teams.
Darius Rush had a nice pass breakup in the end zone, playing things well to squeeze the receiver to the back of the end zone.
Miles Killebrew had an interception in the loss, taking advantage of a familiar sight, that being an arm punt from Mitch Trubisky over the middle of the field. Cornerback Kyler McMichael was all over the place on Saturday night, too, finishing with four tackles. However, he did have a costly horse collar penalty that gave the Bills good field position.
It was nice to see Damontae Kazee dish out some punishment in limited action, too, coming downhill for a big hit on a run play.
Special Teams — C
Not great seeing Chris Boswell miss from 52 yards, doinking it off the left upright. He had a tough training camp at times, and with a new holder in place, the miss was a bit concerning. Fortunately, he did drill a 43-yarder, putting the Steelers on the board in the eventual 9-3 loss.
Punter Cameron Johnston showed off his leg in a major way, booming punts all night. He averaged 56.8 yards per punt against the Bills, downing two of his six punts inside the 20-yard line.
Coverage units were a bit concerning though. Some of it was Johnston outkicking his coverage, but the coverage units were all over the place on Saturday night, leading to Bills rookie Daequan Hardy averaging nearly 13 yards per punt return, including a 31-yarder.
Rookie Ryan Watts did a nice job early, drawing a block in the back penalty on the first punt of the game. But that was really the only positive from the kick coverage units on the night.
Calvin Austin III and Scotty Miller had some success returning punts, with both recording 13-yard punt returns. But there were some penalties in the return game, including one on backup running back La’Mical Perine on Miller’s return.
