The Steelers lost to the Bills 43-19. The team has lost by such a margin in a preseason game since 1992. For much of the game, the defense was hard to watch. Granted, the Bills had their first teamers in at times when the Steelers had 3rd string guys in. Aside from that though, it was just pretty darn ugly.
When it was all said and done, Buffalo’s QB’s were a combined 30 for 33, totaling 395 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.. It wasn’t just pass coverage that struggled. On the Bills opening play, the Steelers defense allowed 34 year old Fred Jackson to break free for a 41 yard run. He’d run it again on the next two downs to score. QB Tyrod Taylor also scored one with his legs.
After the game, Coach Tomlin said some of the young players looked like they were “walking dead”.
“Some of our young guys who pushed through this game- who are quite frankly fighting for jobs, did not execute with enough detail to be in consideration,” said Coach Tomlin. “That’s disappointing. As we push towards the end of this thing, I’d like to see guys with their arrows pointed up, fighting for jobs. Some of those guys looked like they were just walking dead. We’ve got to analyze that, and keep those committed to fighting. Some of that stuff was quite disturbing; not the type of performance we’re looking for.”
It wasn’t all bad, though. WR Martavis Bryant looked like a stud. It made the news of his suspension that much harder to stomach. RB DeAngelo Williams looked sharp yesterday. Newly signed QB Michael Vick looked pretty impressive in his debut as a Steeler.
His first play under center, Vick threw a deep pass to Martavis Bryant that resulted in a 63 yard gain. The pass was over 45 yards in the air and Vick looked like he was hardly trying. Obviously he’s still got the arm strength. Other times Vick struggled with communication, and looked frustrated as he had to burn 2 timeouts in 4 plays. That’s par for the course for a newly signed QB.
Jordan Berry most likely sealed a spot on the roster last night. He showed off his leg strength, finishing the night with a booming 78 yard punt.
The deadline for trimming the 90 man roster down to 75 is Tuesday at 4:00 pm. It’s likely the team will start making cuts before then.
