Bills put on a sloppy, penalty-filled performance in 27-15 loss to Steelers
There is only one thing that fans of the Buffalo Bills can take solace in after a rather deplorable performance Saturday night in Pittsburgh: Preseason games don’t count, and a few weeks from now, the 27-15 loss to the Steelers will be forgotten.
It’s safe to say that the Bills could not have played any worse than they did across approximately 45 cringe-worthy minutes at Acrisure Stadium as they trailed 27-0 after three quarters before scoring two touchdowns with Kyle Allen at quarterback in the fourth quarter.
Not even five minutes into the game, the first-team defense gave up a 62-yard touchdown run; the first-team offense went three-and-out; the special teams gave up a 54-yard punt return; and the defense got burned on the next play for a 25-yard touchdown for a 14-0 Steelers lead.
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“They came out and they were hungry; they wanted it today,” Allen said of the fast-starting Steelers. “But a lot to learn from. I’m glad we’re going through this now as opposed to during the season. I think we did good things today, I don’t think it was all bad. Obviously, the first half we wish it was prettier, but again, we’re gonna learn from it.”
As bad as the start was, despite what Allen said, it didn’t really get any better as the night went on. Matt Barkley replaced Josh Allen at quarterback on Buffalo’s fourth offensive possession and his five series were an unmitigated disaster. The results were interception, interception, end of half, interception, lost fumble, and he apparently suffered an elbow injury.
He was replaced by Kyle Allen late in the third quarter, and just like Barkley a week ago against the Colts, he took advantage of playing against players who will not make the Steelers 53-man roster. He completed 12 of 15 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown.
This is not going to be a fun week of practice for the Bills, nor should it be. The lack of execution, the sloppy play, and the ridiculous amount of penalties are all things that have to be addressed.
“We have to get an education from, and learn from, with our eyes open and our ears open,” coach Sean McDermott said. “Just go back to the drawing board.”
Here are some observations I had after this horror show:
Do the Bills coaches teach the rules?
Even for a preseason game, committing 12 penalties for 90 yards in the first half - more than a quarter of that with first-team players on the field - was next-level terrible. Granted, a couple of the calls were kind of head scratching, but that just reminds us all how stupid some of football’s rules are.
The bottom line is that the Bills looked completely unprepared, especially the offensive line with foolish false start penalties, and then the pass defenders who couldn’t stop interfering with Pittsburgh’s receivers. McDermott was irritated last week when the Bills had eight penalties, so yeah, Sunday’s film session is going to make his blood boil.
Thankfully, either the Bills started paying attention to detail or the officials wore themselves out because the Bills had only one more penalty in the second half.
“Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable,” McDermott said. “I’ve got to figure out something there. At the end of the day, it’s my responsibility.”
First-team offensive line looks as average as ever
This is not a new issue for the Bills; their offensive line has been mediocre for pretty much the entire run to three straight AFC East division titles. Josh Allen has masked a lot of the problems with his incredible athleticism and the Bills have been incredibly fortunate that he hasn’t paid the price with an injury that has forced him out of the lineup.
The tackles, Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown, did not look good, and it’s clear the Bills have no depth at the position, especially now. Brandon Shell retired earlier in the week and Tommy Doyle continues to be the most cursed Bill when it comes to injuries.
After missing most of 2022 with a torn right ACL, Saturday he blew out his left knee and McDermott confirmed that he will miss the entire season. Cruel game for sure, and sadly, it might be time for the 2021 fifth-round pick to consider a new career.
Rookie O’Cyrus Torrence started at right guard ahead of Ryan Bates, and it’s starting to look like he might be the frontrunner for that job. Part of that is because Bates remains such a valuable member of the team for his versatility to play any position up front, but also because Torrence has played pretty well. He might have been their best offensive lineman in this game. At least he didn’t commit a penalty.
Brandon Beane running it back with Doyle, Shell and David Quessenberry as the top options to win the backup tackle job is proving to be problematic, unless we’re supposed to be believe that Ryan Van DeMark is the answer, Quessenberry could win the job by default and let’s be perfectly honest - he’s not very good. Beane is going to need to get on the phone and look into acquiring a veteran.
“I probably could have gotten the ball out of my hand a little bit quicker, made a couple of quicker reads," Josh Allen said. "I’m not concerned. That’s a really good front that we just played, they got some real dudes on that defensive line. So I think it was good for our offensive line to see.”
Dalton Kincaid showed what he could become
Amid all the poor play in the first half, the rookie first-round pick was a ray of sunshine. As I’ve been saying right along, Kincaid is going to be the Bills’ slot receiver. He’s listed as a tight end, but he’s as much a tight end as Kansas City’s Travis Kelce and Baltimore’s Mark Andrews are.
Those guys are slot receivers who are almost never involved in pass protection the way a traditional tight end is, for instance, Dawson Knox. Kincaid is a receiver in a tight end’s body, and he owned the middle of the field catching three passes for 45 yards.
Kincaid probably saw a little extended playing time in this game because Dawson Knox sat out with a finger injury. He handled himself well and that bodes well.
“Kincaid came out and made some really nice plays for us and that’s a positive sign,” Josh Allen said.
Dane Jackson, A.J. Klein may be starters
Jackson started the game at cornerback, broke up a pass, then came out when the first team exited, and the fourth-year pro is simply ahead of both Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford.
Elam is starting to become a problem as the 2022 first-round pick did not have a good game. On Pittsburgh’s final possession of the first half, he was flagged for interference on a third-down play that the drive alive, and then he gave up a three-yard TD pass from Mitchell Trubisky to tight end Connor Heyward a few snaps later. Benford committed a pass interference penalty, too.
At linebacker, Tyrel Dodson started and got blown out of the way on Jaylen Warren’s 62-yard touchdown run. Not long after, Klein was on the field with the starters and late in the game, Dodson was in with the third-string.
Klein was the fourth option at the start of camp behind Dodson, Terrel Bernard and Baylon Spector. Right now, odds are he’s going to be starting Week 1 in New York.
Andy Isabella didn’t pop on returns
The diminutive wide receiver has to make a statement in the return game if he’s going to make the team, and it didn’t really happen. He had three kickoff returns for 53 yards and didn’t really show a feel for finding a lane. He did, however, make a nice play on a 19-yard pass reception.
Isabella seems to be in direct competition with rookie fifth-round pick Justin Shorter, and being a draft pick gives Shorter a big leg up. After doing nothing in the first game, Shorter was more involved in this one as he was targeted six times and caught five for 47 yards including a 17-yard touchdown in the final minute of the game.
The Bills did not get out healthy
In addition to losing Doyle and then whatever happened to Barkley, the Bills also announced that edge rusher Shane Ray suffered a hamstring injury, and defensive tackle D.J. Dale hurt his back.
The Barkley injury is obviously the one to watch. He’s going to be on the practice squad - the whole backup competition thing was a bit overblown - but if he’s hurt, the Bills will need to bring in a third arm.
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which will come out every Friday during training camp, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills vs Steelers final score 27-15 in preseason game in Pittsburgh
