Positional Grades Steelers Bills
Positional Grades Steelers Bills
Just like that, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason is over.
The Steelers fell to the Buffalo Bills Thursday night on the road, 28-27, allowing the game-winning two-point conversion with just over a minute left before a failed two-minute drive from rookie QB Drew Allar ended the game. The loss dropped the Steelers to 1-2 in the first preseason under Mike McCarthy.
Several big names didn’t play — some didn’t even travel to Buffalo. A lot of young players got plenty of runway to work with, and it was encouraging to see how they handled the road environment in a close game.
Now, it’s on to a difficult 72 hours in which the Steelers have to trim the roster down to 53, and then create their 16-man practice squad.
Let’s get to some grades.
QB — C+
Getting a second consecutive start, second-year QB Will Howard’s game didn’t begin well; he was sacked on the first play of the drive. But he bounced back — with some help from Buffalo. One play after a muffed punt, Howard hit rookie Germie Bernard on a quick throw to the right flat, leading to a 13-yard touchdown.
On the next drive after Buffalo shanked a punt, Howard found rookie UDFA tight end Lake McRee for a 5-yard touchdown, putting the Steelers in the end zone on back-to-back drives. He wasn’t asked to do much, but he was efficient with the football and looked much better against the Bills than he did against the Jets.
Howard threw an interception in the second quarter, but it didn’t appear to be entirely his fault. There was a clear miscommunication with McRee, as Howard threw to the middle of the field and McRee broke outside. No receiver was in the area. Tough break for Howard, who was frustrated after the play. Howard finished 9-for-15 for 69 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception. He was sacked three times.
It was disappointing to hear Howard was being assessed for a head injury after the game. Hopefully it’s nothing that lingers long-term.
Drew Allar took over in the second half and had some decent moments, but he finished just 9-for-18 for 88 yards. He wasn’t sacked and didn’t turn the ball over, which was nice to see. But he didn’t do much outside of that. He didn’t get any help on the two-minute drive, either. Tight end Lake McRee dropped a pass, and then the UDFA TE didn’t cut off his route on the final fourth down, resulting in a turnover on downs and the end of the game.
Allar hit Max Hurleman for a 25-yard gain off play-action, which was a solid rep all around. But his highlights were too few and far between.
RB — B
Lew Nichols was the lead back in this one and looked good. He had a nice 13-yard catch-and-run, and also had a 9-yard run, showing he should be in the mix for the RB3 role. Nichols ran for 40 yards on seven carries and played with physicality. He can provide some special teams snaps, too, and feels like a better player overall than Travis Homer.
Homer had two carries for 11 yards and didn’t move the needle much, while Kaleb Johnson had just five carries for 11 yards and did nothing worth writing about. It’s hard to see him claiming a roster spot at this rate.
Rookie seventh-rounder Eli Heidenreich looked really good against the Bills. He scored on a 9-yard run, following a great block from fellow rookie Max Iheanachor. Heidenreich was a decisive runner, getting his foot in the ground and getting north in a hurry. He consistently falls forward at the end of his runs, too, the mark of a tough running back. Heidenreich finished with nine carries for 35 yards and a score.
WR — B-
After a quiet second preseason game against the Jets, Germie Bernard started this one fast. He forced a missed tackle in the flat and raced home for a 13-yard touchdown off a quick throw from Will Howard. This play highlighted his ability after the catch. That was a big part of his game coming out of college, so it was great to see him show it again inside a stadium.
I really liked what I saw from Max Hurleman. All he does is make plays. He had one tough catch over the middle, taking a big hit but holding on to move the chains. Later, he was wide open on a 25-yard strike from Allar off play-action. He made a couple of defenders miss after the catch.
Outside of Bernard and Hurleman, the receivers had quiet nights. Cornell Powell had three catches for 23 yards in the second half and could be a decent piece worth keeping around on the practice squad, while rookie Kaden Wetjen had a nice 7-yard catch over the middle to move the chains on a strike from Allar early in the second half.
Brandon Smith returned to action and had just two catches for four yards. Not much to write about there. It wasn’t surprising to see Jakobie Kenney-James and Levi Wentz have some passes bounce off their hands and miscommunications with Allar.
TE — C
Without Darnell Washington, Pat Freiermuth, and Robert Tonyan, the younger tight ends got a lot of run. Rookie UDFA Lake McRee found the end zone. McRee hauled in a short pass from Howard and found the end zone from 5 yards out on an RPO, diving over a Bills defender to cross the goal line.
The good feeling about McRee was short-lived, though, as the rookie ran the wrong route in the second quarter, leading to an interception from Howard over the middle of the field. McRee later had a drop in the two-minute drill late in the game that was disappointing to see.
Rookie Riley Nowakowski had a 7-yard catch early on from Howard, but he had a false start penalty, a poor pre-snap mistake.
Lance Mason had some nice moments in the second half, hauling in three passes for 31 yards. He had a nice adjustment on a ball over the middle on an Allar throw for 13 yards, moving the chains. It was a nice bounce back for him after dropping a pass in the two-minute drill last week.
OL — D
Once again, the offensive line is struggling.
Dylan Cook started and played the first half at left tackle and had a ton of issues in pass protection. He doesn’t play with much power, especially evident when he plays against powerful pass rushers. It’s very concerning at this point, though his struggles against the Bills came at left tackle, not right tackle, where he’s projected to start.
Broderick Jones had another rough performance He didn’t play well at right tackle, allowing some pressure, and then switched to left tackle and gave up early penetration on one run play to blow up the play.
Rookie Max Iheanachor had an up-and-down debut. He had a great block out in front of Heidenreich on his touchdown, but he had a pair of holding calls. He also struggled at times with timing his punch up with his feet in pass protection. I’m excited to see the All-22 when it’s available.
On the interior, I thought Ryan McCollum was once again a disaster. He had some sloppy snaps, was a poor run blocker, and doesn’t look like a guy who deserves a roster spot. Rookie Gennings Dunker had an ugly pass protection snap early, but he bounced back nicely and played well down the stretch, holding up in pass protection while clearing some lanes in the run game.
Doug Nester seemed to be responsible for Howard’s sack on the first play from scrimmage. But I thought he bounced back nicely overall and had some good moments in the run game. He feels like a serviceable practice squad piece.
DL — B+
After a relatively quiet performance against the Jets last week, rookie sixth-rounder Gabriel Rubio showed up in a big way early on against the Bills, shutting down the run game. He had one tackle and blew up a couple of run plays, leading to stops from Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts behind him. Rubio was impressive at the point of attack again, and it seems like he’s claimed a roster spot.
It was nice to see Kevin Jobity Jr. get a sack in his return home to Western New York. He’s had a quiet training camp and preseason, but he created some splash as he fights for a practice squad spot.
Esezi Otomewo entered the matchup needing to make some plays to earn a 53-man spot along the defensive line, but he didn’t stand out. He did have a facemask penalty, which was a blow to his chances.
I liked what I saw from Kyler Baugh and Anthony Goodlow. Baugh tipped a pass at the line in the fourth quarter and then chased quarterback Shane Buechele to the sideline after the subsequent catch, showing tremendous hustle. Goodlow had a sack deep in Buffalo’s end, setting up a punt return for a TD.
LB — B
Elandon Roberts has been a heck of an addition. Though he’s playing a few too many snaps in the preseason for my liking, all he does is make plays against the run. Roberts had three tackles and one tackle for loss, consistently triggering downhill to blow up runs.
I liked what I saw from Cole Holcomb in this one, especially fighting for a roster spot. He was all over the field, making four tackles and one tackle for loss against Buffalo. He missed a couple of tackles, but his performance was encouraging.
Carson Bruener had a rough showing after a great game against the Jets. He had an ugly missed tackle in the flat on a swing route to Buffalo running back Frank Gore Jr., leading to a Buffalo touchdown one play later.
Outside linebacker Jack Sawyer had some good moments early in the game. He generated pressure a few times, winning 1-on-1 battles with his hands. That’s a good sign entering Year 2. Julius Welschof had a sack in the first half, too, taking advantage of some increased reps. That was his second sack of the preseason as he continues to generate pressure in the summer.
Jamin Davis generated pressure, too, and showed up positively even if he didn’t have many stats. I think he’s going to get lost in the roster crunch, but I’d love if he made the practice squad.
DB — C
I loved what I saw from D’Shawn Jamison in the final preseason game. He was everywhere, and I’ve highlighted him multiple times this summer as a sleeper. He can play on special teams, too, and it was encouraging to see him finish with seven tackles. He had a big tackle for loss near the goal line in the second half against the run. He finished with two tackles for loss overall.
Devan Boykin led the Steelers with nine tackles, but he was sloppy in coverage, as was Doneiko Slaughter. The Bills went after him repeatedly, and while he didn’t allow any big plays, he was stiff in coverage and didn’t change directions well.
Tamon Lynum had a game to forget, drawing a pivotal pass interference penalty to set up the Bills’ late touchdown, and then was burned on the 2-point conversion, giving the Bills the late lead. Safety Jack Henderson missed a pair of tackles in the loss and might have played himself out of a special-teams role after struggling the last two weeks.
The good news is Robert Spears-Jennings might have played his way into a roster lock. He had two tackles, earned a ton of postgame praise from Elandon Roberts, and shot downhill with serious force. He had a big hit on one run play and later added a quarterback hit.
Daryl Porter Jr. had a key pass breakup in the end zone in the second half. But he was beaten badly on the route, bailed out by an underthrown ball.
It was nice to see Brandin Echols return to action. He had four tackles and looked like his usual self in the slot.
Special Teams — B+
Rookie fourth-round pick Kaden Wetjen wasn’t performing well in the return game, but it ultimately only takes one play to change things around entirely. After struggling to make anything happen on punt returns due to poor blocking, Wetjen took advantage of a punt from deep in Buffalo’s own end zone, broke two tackles, and raced home 45 yards for the score, doing exactly what the Steelers drafted him to do.
Cameron Johnston punted the ball well once again, averaging 50.6 yards per punt in the loss. He pinned two punts inside the 20-yard line, too, but he outkicked his coverage multiple times. That says more about the talent out there than it does Johnston right now.
Heidenreich looked solid on one kickoff return, picking up 26 yards, breaking one tackle and getting outside the 30-yard line.
It was nice to see the special teams coverage units make some plays, too. Concerningly, Ben Skowronek left early with an injury after a tackle on a kickoff. But seeing Brandin Echols take advantage of a muffed punt as a gunner, setting up Bernard’s TD, was very encouraging.
Long snapper Christian Kuntz had a nice tackle on one punt, too. Hopefully he talks about it on his podcast.