Observations: Josh Allen held out, injuries mount for Bills in preseason win over Steelers
With a wet field following a torrential rain ahead of kickoff, the Buffalo Bills’ coach elected not to play star quarterback Josh Allen in the team’s second preseason game, a 9-3 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.
Sean McDermott played it safe Saturday.
With a wet field following a torrential rain ahead of kickoff, the Buffalo Bills head coach elected not to play star quarterback Josh Allen in the team’s second preseason game, a 9-3 win over the Steelers at Acrisure Field.
“The reason there was, I thought Josh had a really good week of practice, played well in the practice against the Steelers two days ago, and the conditions the way it was, I didn't love that,” McDermott said. “Then the warmup wasn't a full warmup with the weather the way it was, so I just didn't feel like in my gut it was the right thing to do.”
With Allen out, Mitch Trubisky started against the team for which he had played the past two years. Trubisky had struggled as a starter with the Steelers, and not surprisingly, he was booed by the Pittsburgh crowd when he took the field.
Trubisky didn’t do much to make the home crowd miss him. The Bills’ first four offensive possessions produced just 46 yards. Three of them ended in punts, and the fourth lasted just two plays before Trubisky was intercepted by Pittsburgh’s Miles Killebrew.
Trubisky and the Bills offense finally found some rhythm on their fifth possession, which went for 50 yards on nine plays and ended with a 27-yard field goal by Tyler Bass that gave Buffalo a 3-0 lead. Trubisky’s best throw of the drive, and the night, went to reserve tight end Zach Davidson for a 27-yard gain.
The drive stalled out inside the Pittsburgh 10-yard line. Trubisky led rookie receiver Keon Coleman a little too far on a second-and-4 throw from the Steelers’ 8-yard line. Then on third down, he threw incomplete to tight end Quintin Morris.
The Bills elected not to play starting quarterback Josh Allen on Saturday against the Steelers in their second preseason game. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Trubisky’s night ended in the second quarter because of a knee injury. He finished the game 9 of 13 for 86 yards and was sacked twice.
He was replaced in the lineup by Ben DiNucci, who was signed Tuesday after No. 3 quarterback Shane Buechele was placed on injured reserve because of a neck injury suffered against the Bears in the preseason opener.
“Wanted to get a good look at Mitch and then he got the knee there, so we'll see where that leaves us, but good to see Ben as well get in there,” McDermott said.
Unfortunately for the Bills, injuries were a major issue all night on a wet field. Morris was ruled out for the game in the third quarter because of a shoulder injury, as was defensive tackle Austin Johnson because of a calf injury.
Late in the fourth quarter, rookie edge rusher Javon Solomon also was announced as being out for the rest of the game because of a calf injury.
It was not immediately clear whether the Bills took those players out for precautionary reasons or if the injuries are more serious.
“We've got a number of them again, and I don't have any updates,” McDermott said after the game. “I wish I did. Everyone's being evaluated and we'll know more here in the next couple of days.”
2. The defense closed the deal. The game was still in the balance when a little more than 3 minutes remained in the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-4 from the Bills’ 20-yard line, defensive end Kingsley Jonathan kept Steelers quarterback Justin Fields contained in the pocket. Fields then threw an incomplete pass intended for tight end Connor Heyward, with Bills cornerback Te’Cory Couch in tight coverage.
The Buffalo offense couldn’t produce the needed first down to run out the clock, meaning the Steelers got the ball back at the two-minute warning on their 28-yard line. On first down, Fields was sacked by Jonathan for a loss of 5 yards. On second down, Fields recovered his own fumble before throwing an incomplete pass intended for Quez Watkins. On third down, Bills linebacker Deion Jones forced Steelers running back La’Mical Perine out of bounds after a 4-yard completion.
On fourth-and-11, pressure from Bills edge rushers Kameron Cline and Jonathan forced Fields into another incompletion and a turnover on downs.
3. Greg Rousseau had a big night. The Bills’ fourth-year defensive end abused Steelers right tackle Broderick Jones on multiple occasions, finishing with four tackles, three quarterback hits and 2½ sacks in just 11 snaps. The Bills picked up Rousseau’s fifth-year option for 2025 earlier this offseason, and would like to see him take a step forward as a pass rusher. He certainly looked the part Saturday night.
“Yeah, that's the kind of night I'm trying to have every night,” Rousseau said. “Just being out there with the guys I'm out there with really just makes it easy. For me, there is no preseason. You step out there, it's 11-on-11. It's grown men out there. Football is football. Those are starters out there.”
Rousseau thoroughly beat Jones for one of his sacks, knocking him back to get right in Russell Wilson’s face.
“It was just being physical, playing fast,” Rousseau said. “I came off the ball, the running back was on my side. I went power to avoid the chip and then I just snatched off and Russ was right there.”
4. Marquez Valdes-Scantling was hurt. The scariest injury of the night came when the veteran receiver suffered a neck injury when he was tackled by Steelers cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. after an 8-yard completion with 1:17 remaining in the second quarter. Nearly the entire Bills bench came onto the field as trainers looked at Valdes-Scantling, with several of them taking a knee. A stretcher was briefly brought onto the field, but Valdes-Scantling was able to walk to the sideline. He spent some time in the medical tent before being carted to the Buffalo locker room right before halftime. He was ruled out for the game early in the third quarter.
5. Ray Davis provided a spark. Buffalo's rookie running back wasn’t able to get much going in the first preseason game against Chicago, but he had some nice moments against Pittsburgh. On Buffalo’s first drive of the third quarter, Davis showed good burst repeatedly, gaining 49 yards on six straight runs to start the possession. That, along with a horse-collar tackle penalty against Pittsburgh, moved the ball to the Steelers’ 7-yard line, but the drive stalled from there. Davidson was called for a false start. After two runs by Darrynton Evans gained 4 yards, DiNucci's pass intended for Justin Shorter was incomplete on third down. The Bills moved ahead with a 26-yard field goal by Bass. Davis finished with eight carries and a team-leading 58 yards.
“You've got to show up,” Davis said. “That's the reason why you get drafted to a place like this. Having a good guy in front of you (James Cook), you've got to go out there and be able to set the pace just like him. I was proud to be able to go out there and set that pace and keep the ball turning. Really wanted to get into the end zone toward that last run, but at the end of the day, as long as I was able to do my job and help the O-line get positive gains and positive yards, I think it went well.”
6. Bass was perfect. The Bills kicker has been shaky at times during training camp. While none of his three field goals Saturday were very long — the final one was from 31 yards out to give the Bills a 9-3 lead with 9:07 left in the fourth quarter — the fact that he hit all three should be a confidence-booster.
7. Keon Coleman had a quiet night. The rookie receiver played 30 snaps, including some in the third quarter, but finished with just one catch for 12 yards. Coleman was targeted three times, including one throw from Trubisky that was in the end zone. The ball was a bit too far ahead of Coleman, though it appeared he at least had a chance to bring it in.
8. The following players were not in uniform for the game: safeties Damar Hamlin, Cole Bishop and Mike Edwards, wide receiver Curtis Samuel (general soreness), linebackers Nicholas Morrow (groin), Matt Milano (biceps) and Baylon Spector (calf), offensive lineman Travis Clayton (shoulder), wide receiver Lawrence Keys III (not specified) and defensive end Casey Toohill (groin).
Edwards and Bishop have been out for weeks. They were joined on the sideline Saturday by Hamlin, who has been filling in for them in the starting lineup. Hamlin, a Pittsburgh native, did not finish Thursday's joint practice against the Steelers. Cam Lewis and Taylor Rapp were the starters at safety.
In addition to Allen, the Bills did not play linebacker Terrel Bernard and veteran edge rusher Von Miller.
With Milano out long-term because of a torn biceps tendon suffered in practice, McDermott did not want to risk it with Bernard.
“That one was already determined before,” the coach said of the decision not to play Bernard. “To be honest with you, when we lost Matt, we're just where we are at that position right now, so I didn't want to expose TB out there.”