Steelers fans hoping for a fairytale beginning to rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett\u2019s career to mirror Ben Roethisberger\u2019s improbable start during the 2004 season were smacked with a sobering dose of reality in the form of a 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Coach Mike Tomlin summed up the performance, stating \u201cWe got smashed as a collective today.\u201d Sunday marked the worst loss in the Mike Tomlin era and the largest margin of defeat for Pittsburgh in 33 years.<\/p>\n
Buffalo\u2019s number one defense squared off against an unproven rookie quarterback, but it was the Bills offense that dominated the game. The Bills came into the game outscoring opponents by 56 points, while the Steelers were outscored by 16 through the first four contests. Both of those margins grew by Sunday\u2019s final whistle.<\/p>\n
Facing the Bills at Highmark Stadium is quite the task, especially for a rookie quarterback in his first start. Despite the outcome, the moment was not too big for Pickett as he exhibited pocket presence and smiled in the face of adversity on the field. After the game, KP8 showed his leadership skills as he took ownership of the defeat.<\/p>\n
The rookie from Pitt acknowledged the fact that the Steelers only put up three points, despite moving the ball downfield, stating \u201cThere were a lot of points left out there and it\u2019s on us.\u201d He added, \u201cWe\u2019ve got to be a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n
On just the third play of the game, Bills quarterback Josh Allen fired a deep pass to Gabe Davis, which resulted in a 98 yard touchdown, the longest in Buffalo franchise history, and the longest passing touchdown the black and gold have allowed since 1966.<\/p>\n
After a muffed kickoff return, the Bills took over deep in Steelers territory. Pittsburgh\u2019s defense held Buffalo to a field goal attempt which was blocked.<\/p>\n
The Steelers answered the bell with a 12 play, 50 yard drive, capped off by a Chris Boswell field goal. The points were significant, as they marked the first time Pittsburgh scored on an opening drive this season.<\/p>\n
A potential turning point in the game came with the Steelers down 10-3 as cornerback Levi Wallace picked off his former teammate Josh Allen. The Steelers failed to capitalize on the turnover and went three and out, which allowed the Bills to add to their lead.<\/p>\n
The second quarter proved disastrous for the visitors, as Josh Allen added to a 10-3 lead and tossed three more passing touchdowns to inflate the Steelers deficit to 28 by the half. Additionally, the Steelers offense sputtered in the form of three straight three-and-outs in the second quarter, contributing to an insurmountable Bills lead. A halftime score of 31-3 marked the largest deficit for Pittsburgh since 1990.<\/p>\n
After the game, Coach Mike Tomlin got right to the point noting, \u201cWe got behind significantly, early.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through the first four outings, the Bills outscored their opponents 44-0 during the third quarter. Though the Steelers shutout the Buffalo squad in the third, they were unable to put up any points on the board.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh looked poised to score on Buffalo near the end of the third quarter, when Kenny Pickett was hit hard during a slide at the end of a run. The officials neglected to throw a flag, which led to OG James Daniels to take matters into his own hands near the Buffalo sideline, which incited a Pier Six Brawl fueled by frustration.<\/p>\n
Josh Allen set the Bills\u2019 club record for yards through the air in a regulation game with 424 yards and four touchdowns. Allen achieved the feat in just over three quarters. The Bills held the advantage on offensive splash plays, connecting on seven passes of 20 yards or more and another four on the ground, while Pittsburgh was held to three completions of at least 20 yards.<\/p>\n
It was a one-dimensional game as the Steelers were chasing the Bills from the get go and could not lean on their running game. Najee Harris finished with 11 carries for 20 yards. Jaylen Warren added 24 yards on five totes, including a 12 yard scamper, the longest run of the day for the black and gold.<\/p>\n
Due to the lopsided score, the Steelers\u2019 play-action game plan was out the window. That impacted the play calls and had the Pittsburgh quarterback drop back 52 times in his first full game. Kenny Pickett threw for 327 yards and completed 34 of his 52 passes. His game totals set Pittsburgh rookie records. KP8 finished the day with an interception. He completed passes to 10 different receivers.<\/p>\n
The atmosphere of a windy day on the shores of Lake Erie proved detrimental to the Steelers, as the near-automatic Chris Boswell missed two field goals, and punter Presley Harvin\u2019s punts resulted in less than desired results.<\/p>\n
Head Coach Mike Tomlin offered his take on Pittsburgh\u2019s performance, saying \u201cYou know, no need to really sugarcoat it. We got handled today. We got handled by a very good football team. You know, there\u2019s nothing mystical about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Steelers defense had just one pressure on Josh Allen. Conversely, Kenny Pickett was sacked three times and pressured and hit on multiple occasions. Pittsburgh has lost four games in a row and are now 0-8 without star linebacker T.J. Watt in the lineup. In addition to Watt, the black and gold entered the contest without two starters in their secondary – safety Terrell Edmunds and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon. By the end of the day, with defensive injuries piling up, the Steelers faced an uphill battle against a high-powered Buffalo offense.<\/p>\n
When asked about the impact of injuries, Cam Heyward answered, \u201cSo what? Everybody\u2019s got injuries. We\u2019re in the National Football League. This is the chance for guys to step up.\u201d The defensive captain added, \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t matter who\u2019s in the game. We are a defense. A defense is not just 11. It\u2019s everybody who\u2019s in that locker room who plays defense. We do so much rotation and we get so many reps during practice you should be prepared for that moment and we weren\u2019t today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coach Mike Tomlin isn\u2019t ruling out personnel and staff changes. He stated, \u201cYou play like we did today, you\u2019ve got to be open to doing whatever\u2019s required to change the outcome of these games.\u201d The head coach said also remarked, \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody is going to be surprised by our willingness to to turn over whatever stone to change the outcome of games like (what) transpired today. That\u2019s just appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the postgame presser, Coach Mike Tomlin offered some insight to his efforts to right the ship as he stated, \u201cAlthough today is miserable, we\u2019ll get back to work tomorrow. We won\u2019t reinvent the wheel. We\u2019ll evaluate our performance. We\u2019ll own it. We\u2019ll learn from it and then we\u2019ll begin the process of plotting a course for our next opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something became apparent during and in the aftermath of the blowout: Kenny Pickett showed steel resolve, leadership, and an unwillingness to back down. These intangibles, coupled with the rookie\u2019s undeniable skill set will prove to provide Pittsburgh with a franchise quarterback for years to come.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh must regroup and get ready for a 1:00pm matchup next Sunday against the 3-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Steel Standard with Aaron Horner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Steelers fans hoping for a fairytale beginning to rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett\u2019s career to mirror Ben Roethisberger\u2019s improbable start during the 2004 season were smacked with a sobering dose of reality in the form of a 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Pittsburgh Coach Mike Tomlin summed up the performance, stating \u201cWe got smashed as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional"],"yoast_head":"\n