Highmark Stadium in Buffalo proved to be a house of horrors for Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon, as Bills quarterback Josh Allen had a career day, throwing for over 400 yards and four touchdowns as part of a 38-3 dismantling of the Steelers.
Allen threw for 348 yards and the four scores by halftime, and was pulled with over 10 minutes left in the contest. He still finished the day completing 20 of his 31 passes for a career-high 424 yards, while also rushing for a team-high 42 yards, completely overshadowing Steelers rookie Kenny Pickett’s first career start.
Pickett still has yet to throw his first touchdown pass in the NFL, but he did put up a career-best 327 yards (34 for 52, one interception) under the circumstances Sunday, and gained some valuable experience in a hostile environment in the process. Pickett’s 34 completions were a franchise record for a Pittsburgh quarterback making his first start.
“It felt good,” said Pickett. “I felt comfortable, knew where to go with the football, the game wasn’t moving too fast for me, just seeing things. Guys were doing what they were supposed to be doing, we just weren’t consistent throughout.”
The Bills (4-1) built a 28-point halftime lead and were just too much for the banged-up Steelers, who suffered their largest defeat since a 51-0 loss to Cleveland in 1989 and dropped their fourth game in a row, falling to 1-4 on the season.
“We got smashed as a collective today,” admitted Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin of the worst loss of his 16-year tenure. “No need to really sugarcoat it, man. We got handled today. We got handled by a very good football team. There’s nothing mystical about it.”
Buffalo wideout Gabriel Davis got things started with a 98-yard touchdown reception over the top of the Steeler defense on just the third play from scrimmage. After the teams swapped field goals, Allen, who wasn’t sacked and only got hit once all day, connected with Davis again, this time on a 62-yard bomb, as the Bills jumped out to a 17-3 advantage with 9:29 left in the first half.
Pittsburgh then went three-and-out for a third-straight possession, leading to a Stefon Diggs 15-yard touchdown reception and a 24-3 deficit just over two minutes later … but Allen wasn’t done.
The fifth-year, former No. 7 pick hooked up with rookie Khalil Shakir for 24 yards and another scoring strike just before the half, pushing the lead to 31-3 by the break.
“There were a lot of points left out there, and that’s on us,” Pickett said of the Steelers offense, which went 0-for-4 on red-zone opportunities on the afternoon.
The Bills — who were playing without receivers Isaiah McKenzie and Jake Kumerow, along with starting tight end Dawson Knox — racked up 400 yards of offense by halftime alone and finished with 552, even after taking their foot off the gas considerably with second-string QB Case Keenum relieving Allen with 10:16 to play.
The Steelers fought to put points on the board until the final whistle, but turned the ball over on downs three times and missed a field goal on their four second-half possessions.
Davis led all receivers with 171 yards and the two touchdowns on just three catches, while Diggs added 102 and a score on eight receptions.
Pittsburgh’s defense was again without star linebacker T.J. Watt — who reportedly underwent surgery last week to repair a preseason knee injury in addition to the pectoral issue that placed him on the IR, and could now be out until Week 10 at the earliest — but also missing half of its starting secondary in CB Ahkello Witherspoon and S Terrell Edmonds, who were both inactive.
Offensively, the Steelers only managed 54 rushing yards on 17 carries, led by rookie Jaylen Warren’s 24 yards. Najee Harris totaled just 36 yards (20 rushing, 16 receiving) on 14 touches. Another rookie, George Pickens, led the Steelers in receiving for the second week in a row with 83 yards on six catches (eight targets, 13.8 yards per grab).
Untimely dropped passes continued to plague Pittsburgh, as Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool were targeted a combined 22 times Sunday, but came away with just 10 receptions for 110 yards. Through five contests, not a single Pittsburgh receiver has caught a touchdown pass (Harris and tight end Pat Freiermuth hauled in the only two on the year).
“Where we are today — not good,” said Tomlin. “We understand it as professionals, we own it. It is what it is. We congratulate the Buffalo Bills on the quality game that they played.”
On the injury front, Freiermuth (concussion protocol), DT Larry Ogunjobi (back), CB Levi Wallace and CB Cam Sutton (hamstring) all left the field during the game and didn’t return. Steven Sims — who was expected to handle kick- and punt-return duties with Gunner Olszewski also inactive — played through a pregame eye injury. Sims wasn’t available for the initial kickoff return as a result, however, leading to an early turnover as his replacement, backup CB James Pierre, couldn’t handle the ball.
Luckily for the Steelers, Cam Heyward blocked the Bills’ ensuing field-goal attempt, or things could’ve been even worse.
Even following such a nightmarish outcome on so many levels, Tomlin said he and his team have no choice but to pick up the pieces, turn the page and get back to the drawing board, as his Steelers host Tampa Bay (3-2) next Sunday at 1 p.m.
The coach was asked if any changes would be considered this week, including benching starters, in preparation for Tom Brady and the Buccaneers, and Tomlin didn’t hold back with his response.
“You play like we played today, you’ve got to be open to do whatever is required to change the outcomes of these games, so that’s a given,” said Tomlin. He didn’t provide any further details, but added: “I don’t think anyone is going to be surprised by our willingness to turn over whatever stone to change the outcome of games, like what transpired today. That’s just appropriate.”
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