Bills bullish, Steelers “bear” 38-3 L

Well, you couldn’t have asked for a better start. The middle and end weren’t as fun in today’s 38-3 road loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Buffalo muffed the opening kickoff at the goal line and started the gam at their 2 yard line. Leal batted down the first down pass, DE Cam Heyward and MLB Myles Jack stuffed a 2nd down run, but the 3rd down play went 98 yards when Gabe Davis got on top of CB Levi Wallace and S Miles Killebrew. 7-0 BUFF

WR Steven Sims was supposed to be the return man today but he suffered some sort of eye injury before the game and CB James Pierre was called to pinch hit in 20ish MPH winds. Predictably, the kick short hopped off his knee and Buffalo had the ball back on the cusp of the red zone.

A holding penalty and a couple Bills being spun backwards but refusing to go down pushed them back to the 30. The special teams shenanigans continued with a blocked FG from CB Cam Sutton.

QB Kenny Pickett finally got the ball in his hands and he was not interested in giving it up. He converted consecutive third downs with passes to WR George Pickens and TE Zach Gentry. It looked like he had a third down inside the 5 but after review WR Diontae Johnson’s one-handed catch was wasted when his second foot came down on the white part of the turf. K Chris Boswell converted the 29-yard FG (barely). 7-3 BUFF

Heyward made a couple strong stops – one he shared with CB Arthur Maulet, the other he emphatically slammed Josh Allen to the ground – and the Steelers defense once again dug in their heels. With the wind out there, forcing a FG attempt of over 35 yards is a significant win. 10-3 BUFF

Kenny came back out making more big-time throws but one was called back for holding (Gentry) and another was dropped by Diontae. Both would have been first downs but it was Kenny’s first three-and-out as a Steeler. P Presley Harvin’s kick bounced around the 20 and trickled down to the goal line where Pierre redeemed himself by pinning the Bills at their 2 again.

The Steelers defense had a 3rd and 4 inside the Buffalo 10 but Wallace and S Tre Norwood both took the under route leaving the honey hole wide open. Leal batted down another pass, Sutton and MLB Myles Jack made strong plays in run defense but Allen seemed to be marching downfield at will…until Wallace pulled in his first INT of the season in the end zone.

Two runs and a pass to HB Najee Harris later and Harvin was punting the ball back. Allen’s first pass went deep to Gabe Davis again; FS Minkah Fitzpatrick was there and simultaneously caught the ball, but he lost the wrestling match. It was a 62-yard TD bomb. 17-3 BUFF

The best thing you can say about the Steelers’ next drive was HB Jaylen Warren was good in pass pro on 3rd down. We got from Kenny’s first three-and-out to his third pretty quickly.

Fortunately he didn’t have to wait long to get another chance. A 1st down run went for 20+, tack on an extra 15 for a Myles Jack late hit. The next play Allen found Diggs on a slant in front of Sutton for his 3rd TD of the afternoon. 24-3 BUFF

Kenny started clicking again when consecutive completions to Pickens and Gentry earned 1st downs. On 3rd&5 he found another highlight play on Pickens back shoulder, 30 yards down the left sideline. They got in range for a 33-yard FG but Boz couldn’t negotiate the elements kicking into the windy end of the stadium.

A minute and a half later Allen had thrown his fourth TD. On 3rd&5 he dropped a deep corner in just out of the diving reach of just-signed CB Josh Jackson. 31-3 BUFF

How is it not even halftime yet? Kenny gave the ball back (4th INT in his first 2 NFL halves) and Allen took a couple more shots before mercifully taking a knee and taking a four-score lead into the locker room.

The Steelers offense got the first bite at the second half apple. Kenny got the boys rolling down to Buffalo’s 20 but they came up empty (again) after Diontae had a 4th down pass knocked from his mitts.

Sutton and DT Larry Ogunjobi were ruled out coming out of half time. Leal and Wallace went down on the first defensive possession. Pierre also missed time in this game; the secondary cupboard was absolutely threadbare. Allen and the Bills drove all the way down to the Steelers’ 1 yard line when Heyward dislodged a ball; Jackson – one play after committing DPI in the end zone – recovered the fumble for a touchback.

Pickett went 6/6 for 69 yards on the ensuing drive but the defining moment came when he took a hit while sliding on a 10-yard scramble. OG James Daniels showed up to defend his QB and THAT action was flagged, but the action on the QB was deemed legal. Boswell missed another 40-something yard FG.

The Bills – having been held scoreless the entire 3rd quarter – indignantly took the opportunity to score their first rushing TD of the season. 38-3 BUFF

I thought we might see Mitch come back in to mop up but Kenny went down with the ship. The first four plays all went to Warren, totaling 33 yards. Four straight incompletions (one was another fantastic effort from Pickens) later and the Steelers were 0-2 on 4th down with two missed FG’s in the red zone. So the final score looked, well, a bit better than it was.

After that Case Keenum relieved Josh Allen. That revelation led to the Bills’ first punt of the day, and only their eighth of the year.

FINAL: 38-3 BUFF

QB change more about defense than offense

This will be my first (and likely my only) criticism of Mike Tomlin, ever.

Mitchell Trubisky was good enough to start the Jets game; otherwise, he wouldn’t have.

Kenny Pickett – based on preseason and practice – wasn’t the guy who gave the team the best chance to win; otherwise, he would have started.

Those aren’t my opinions, they are the opinions of the Steelers coaching staff. Otherwise…well, you know.

So whatever changed, it happened on the field Sunday afternoon. Did Coach T let a crowd of rowdy, drunken 20-somethings make the most important decision of his career (Ke-nny! Ke-nny!)?

No, of course not. Don’t be stupid. It would be stupid to think something like that, or post it on Twitter.

The roadmap coming into the year was very similar to 2019: win with your defense, don’t lose with your offense. That’s why they brought in a Check-down Charlie like Mitch. That’s who he’s always been and that’s the kind of player they said they wanted him to be.

Mitch took deep shots when he got one-on-one coverage but other than that they were constantly playing for third-and-manageable with hitches and quick outs. They weren’t converting those third-and-convertibles and that’s frustrating, but you know what frustrates me more?

Not making a play in the final six-an-a-half minutes against the Patriots. Giving up 171 rushing yards to the Browns. Only managing 1 sack against a Jets team with their last two OT’s.

I think Tomlin realized at half time – down 10-6 to the meager New York Jets – that he could no longer rely on a TJ Watt-less defense to win games. Even with stars at every layer of the defense (Heyward-Jack-Fitzpatrick) he was losing battle after battle and watching the war slip away.

Which means the game plan needed to change. The offensive focus shifted from “don’t lose” to “go out there and steal us one.” Mitch was the better QB to “not lose” (a Minkah pick-six in any of those three losses probably turns them into wins) the game but the ceiling is higher with Kenny.

Despite spotting the Jets 4 points (and 14 unanswered in the 4th) he still put a ball in play in the end zone that could have won it. Our old friend the Results Bias would tell us this justifies the change.

Quick aside: Remember how Ben was constantly throwing behind the sticks on third down last year? This year Najee Harris is 28th in rushing yards (202); he’s 43rd in Y/C (3.5) so don’t start with that “but they’re not sustaining drives…” BS. Have you seen his quads?

It’s almost as if they weren’t/aren’t being put in a position to succeed…but it’s easier to replace the starting quarterback mid-season than the offensive coordinator.

Pickett’s premier falls short

Every pass the rookie QB threw was caught: 10 by Steelers and three by the visiting Jets. The kid played well but Lady Luck wasn’t on the Steelers’ side today to the tune of a 24-20 home loss.

After an exchange of punts, Pittsburgh made the first mistake. QB Mitch Trubisky’s pass was deflected by a defender, then by WR Diontae Johnson, then dug off the turf for an interception.

OLB Alex Highsmith’s 5.5th sack (there has to be a better way of saying that) and a pressure/PBU from MLB Devin Bush helped hold the Jets to a field goal. 3-0 NYJ

Spooky Season began in earnest on the South Shore when Trubisky responded to those three points with the Steelers’ league-leading 12th three-and-out of the year…and the fans weren’t saying “Muth” this time.

Zach Wilson got the offense clicking with some long completions to Elijah Moore. Breece Hall finally found the edge of a rush defense that had been stout thus far. Then a double-reverse that started and ended in Wilson’s hands cracked the end zone. 10-0 NYJ

Trubisky connected with rookie WR George Pickens (over the middle of the field, no less) for 26 yards. Back-to-back runs of 10+ yards (from HB’s Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris) kept the momentum clicking. WR Diontae Johnson had a wonderful toe-dragging catch in the back of the end zone but it was called incomplete on the field and upheld after review. K Chis Boswell got the Black and Gold on the board with a 51-yarder. 10-3 NYJ

As close as Diontae was to having a TD on the previous drive, FS Minkah Fitzpatrick was even closer to his third pick of the season on third down. Flying toward the sideline with his toes dragging he laid out and made a stellar catch, but his momentum pulled a foot off the ground a fraction of a second too soon.

CB Arthur Maulet nearly ended the next drive with a 3rd down INT. Third time’s the charm! CB Cam Sutton came off his man to pick off a pass (on third down) and give the Steelers one last chance.

Mitch was starting drives off with good throws but slamming the door shut on them by taking sacks. Two of his three first half sacks came on 3rd down. He launched a Hail Mary as time expired that ended up in the arms of a Jet, but the play was negated due to a roughing penalty. With no time on the clock Boswell came out and knocked through a 59-yarder: a new stadium record.

Halftime Score: 10-6 NYJ Trubisky: 7/13 84 yards 0 TD 1 INT 3 sacks

The Pittsburgh defense came out stifling with big plays from Bush and Minkah. PR Gunner Olszewski almost ruined the party with his second fumble on the year but when the dust settled it was Qb Kenny Pickett running on the field for the Steelers’ offense.

A QB sneak on 4th and 1 from their own 30 seemed to set a tone but Pickett’s first pass attempt was picked off. He had an entire quadrant of field open he could have led WR Chase Claypool into but he left it over the middle, creating a combat catch scenario in which Chase was out-numbered.

Turn-about is fair play: four plays later Minkah turned a tipped pass back the other way and took it down inside New York’s 5. A shovel to TE Zach Gentry and a run from Najee got it to the 1. They called the QB sneak again: it was initially bottled up but a second effort from the linemen pushed Pickett across for his first NFL TD and the Steelers’ first end zone action of the day. 13-10 PIT

The young Pickett was rolling pockets, he was scrambling (for positive yards), he was throwing on the run, he was living on Pickens’ back shoulder…

Other than that interception Kenny completed his next six passing attempts for 56 yards. He followed up his goal-line plunge with a read-option keeper from two yards out for his second rushing TD of the day. 20-10 PIT

Zach Wilson had some fight in him yet. He drove his troops down to the Steelers’ one-yard-line; despite consecutive penalties that pushed them back outside the 10 they were able to punch it through. 20-17 PIT

Diontae’s first two catches on the day got the chains clicking and another huge back-shoulder, third-down hook-up with Pickens had the Steelers threatening. Another ill-advised throw led to a tipped pass which led to another Jets interception. With 3-and-a-half minutes to play New York had the ball on their own 35.

A chunk pass on first down got them to midfield. S Tre Norwood made a marvelous play in run support and MLB Myles Jack tackled a catch to set up a 3rd and 6 at the 2-minute warning. A scary moment (spooky season) when Minkah appeared to injure his knee making a tackle after an 8-yard pass but he was back a play or two later. Then DT Cam Heyward went down…but he also returned. The Jets were down on the Pittsburgh 2-yard-line.

They ran it and made a reach for the goal-line. Minkah punched the ball loose; it was called a fumble on the field but on review they were granted a TD. 24-20 NYJ

With :16 to play and 75 yards to go, Kenny found 27 yards over the middle to Pickens. With the two injury stoppages on the Jets’ last drive, they were now out of timeouts.

:08 on the clock at Jets’ 48 yard-line: Kenny Pickett’s pass intercepted in the end zone. Final Score: 24-20 NYJ