In preparation for their Week 2 preseason matchup with the Steelers, the Buffalo Bills traveled early to Pittsburgh for a joint practice. They prevailed, defeating the home team 9-3. There were obvious difficulties and fewer opportunities to score points when quarterback Josh Allen was not leading the starting offense, but the defense performed admirably on the other side of the field. On a rainy night, here are five things that stood out to me:
Head coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Bobby Babich ensured that their defense could rebound this week against the Steelers after a disappointing performance against the Chicago Bears last week.
The unit played an impressive game, keeping everything in front of them and tackling well, thanks to excellent communication throughout the night. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, the quarterbacks for Pittsburgh, finished the day with an average of just 5.1 yards per completion. Despite being sacked four times, they failed to score a touchdown.
Overall, the defense performed very well. The front four were strong, the linebackers were quick to shoot the gaps against the run and in good coverage, and the secondary was always well-positioned, allowing nothing to go over the top and finishing plays well with good tackling. They resembled the excellent regular-season defenses of previous years for the Bills. After the terrible news about linebacker Matt Milano, this was definitely a performance that brings some hope.
Questions were raised regarding which players could step up and become the new difference-makers on this side of the ball given the uncertainty surrounding Von Miller’s post-injury return to prominence and Milano’s absence for the majority of the season. Some candidates may have emerged given that the starters played the first two quarters.
A monster, Taron Johnson is. He is completely unique at what he does, allowing the team to continue playing nickel as their base defense without losing any box-box physicality. Already in midseason form, he demonstrated how significant he will be for the Bills this season once more. During the stretch that the Steelers’ offensive line was in, Greg Rousseau and Ed Oliver in the trenches gave the Steelers a hard time. Groot, in particular, was too much for Pittsburgh tackle Broderick Jones, beating him twice with two powerful bull rushes.
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