ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Mike Tomlin isn't one to brag about his team, choosing instead to let its play speak for itself.
On this day, after the Steelers beat the Bills here at Highmark Stadium, 23-16, in their regular season opener, Tomlin was in an uncharacteristically good mood.
His defense had just done a number on the Bills and quarterback Josh Allen.
"We just played Steeler D," Tomlin said. "We respect Josh Allen, we respect their group. They’re a challenging group. But I have an expectation that our defensive unit is going to be in every football game like that. I’m just being bluntly honest with you."
Blunt was the key word for the day, as the Steelers used a lot of blunt force to stymie the Bills.
The Steelers (1-0) bent but never broke for much of this game, forcing the Bills (0-1) to get out of their game plan, which early included some shots down the field, something that changed as Buffalo realized it couldn't consistently block Pittsburgh's pass rush. The Steelers drew three holding penalties on Buffalo's second possession -- its first was a three-and-out after a 75-yard kick return to open the game and set up a 37-yard field goal -- and another later in the first half.
After drawing three holding penalties on that first-quarter drive, the Bills adjusted and began throwing nearly everything short, allowing the Steelers to come up and simply make the tackle.
"We feel like we have quality rushers inside and out," said Cam Heyward. "When we get those opportunities, we feel like we have to succeed. Our back end did an amazing job. They kept a lid on everything. When we have that going from the back end to the front end, it’s pretty nice to see."
They also did it with a lot of moving parts. T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Melvin Ingram rotated at outside linebacker throughout this game, while the Steelers kept churning the interior rushers as well, as Heyward, Tyson Alualu, Chris Wormley, Isaiah Buggs and Carlos Davis all saw playing time.
And the rotations extended into the defensive backfield, too. At times, rookie Tre Norwood was the nickel corner. Arthur Maulet saw time there, as well, while Cam Sutton moved inside at times. That allowed James Pierre to get onto the field as the Steelers kept changing their looks, shifting from nickel to dime on passing downs and keeping Allen off balance.
Allen, who was second in MVP voting a year ago, completed 30 of 51 passes for 271 yards with one score, but was largely ineffective, leading just one touchdown drive. The Steelers sacked him three times, forced him to fumble twice and hit him eight other times.
But it was a play the defense made against the running game that changed this one.
Leading 10-6 early in the fourth quarter, the Bills tried to run Matt Breida on third-and-3 and Minkah Fitzpatrick came up from his deep safety spot and submarined Breida, holding him to a 2-yard gain.
Facing fourth-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 41, the Bills kept their offense on the field and went to a big formation with everyone bunched tight. That also brought Sutton in tight on the formation. The Steelers had seen the Bills use that formation in the past, usually running a fullback dive. But they also noticed the Bills liked to flare the running back out on that play, as well, and surmised the next step would be a flip out to the back.
"It was just something that we anticipated. They had gotten in that structure a bunch, four or five times in the preseason, just giving the dive to the fullback," Tomlin said. "So we figured that that would be the next phase of it to fake that dive to the fullback and flip that ball out there to them. We talked about it, but you can’t take anything away from Sutton, the guy I think that made the play. Just a really aware play and a big-time football play."
Sutton shot into the backfield and tackled the speedy Breida before he could ever get any momentum going, dropping him for a 7-yard loss and turning the ball over on downs at midfield.
"It was just kind of recognizing the play," Sutton said. "(They were) trying to get a speed guy out in space. Everybody was collapsing on the middle. I was able to read and react and get to him before he got started and make the play."
The Steelers would go down and score their first offensive touchdown of the game after that -- a 5-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Diontae Johnson -- for their first lead of the game, before the defense sucked the life out of the Bills with a quick three-and-out culminated by a third-down sack of Allen by Heyward.
That allowed the special teams to get into the fray, as safety Miles Killebrew burst through the line and blocked Matt Haack's punt. It was scooped up by Ulysees Gilbert at the 9 and returned for a touchdown. Just like that, the 10-6 deficit was turned into a 20-10 lead.
But the key was the Steelers defense keeping the game close early while the offense got its footing.
"I don’t want to say a dominant performance because I feel like there was a lot left on the table and a lot of film to watch and make corrections," said Watt. "But I’m very happy with where we are, especially in Week 1. I love playing with this group. We fly around and we handle adversity really well."
The overall numbers might not look great -- Buffalo finished with 371 total yards -- but the end result was just one touchdown and three field goals.
"It was a quality win versus a great offense," Heyward said. "The last few times we’ve played them, we haven’t had our best game. But it’s one win. We’re happy we got the win, but we’ve got 16 more."
• So much for Watt being even a little rusty or out of shape.
He finished this game with just three tackles, but he had two sacks and five of the Steelers' eight quarterback hits after signing a 4-year, $112-million contract extension on Thursday that makes him the NFL's highest-paid defensive player.
"I felt really fresh," said Watt, who didn't practice with the team until Wednesday of this week after sitting out the entire preseason and training camp. "I said that this week, I felt fresh all week. I never want to get too confident with how I felt coming into a game atmosphere and the hype and adrenaline that comes with it, but the three-man rotation that we have with Alex and Melvin is going to be really special. We’re a very unselfish group and I’m looking forward to playing with both of them."
That outside linebacker trio was disruptive in this game beyond Watt, combining for eight tackles, six quarterback hits, a pass defense, two tackles for a loss and this forced fumble by Watt in the second quarter that turned the Bills away after they had driven to the Pittsburgh 38.
The outside linebacker group also forced at least two of the four holding penalties that were called against the Bills. Was that a welcome event for Watt, who was consistently held throughout the 2020 season when the league called more than a full holding penalty less per game than it had over the previous decade?
"No comment," Watt said with a sly grin.
• The offense was not good in the first half of this game, not good at all. But with four rookies seeing their first NFL playing time -- including two on the offensive line -- and two second-year players seeing their first NFL action in front of a real, live crowd, that was to be expected.
In fact, Roethlisberger correctly noted during the week that the offense would be a work in progress. It most certainly was.
But it looked markedly better in the second half, scoring points on four-straight possessions. In fact, after gaining just 54 total yards in the first half, the Steelers had 126 total yards in the third quarter. Both of those drives, however, ended in short field goals.
Those have to be turned into touchdowns. The defense is good -- bordering on great. But it can't be counted on to do what it did Sunday every week.
"It’s a team. That’s as simple as you can put it," Sutton said of the Steelers. "We’re going to be hot some days. The offense is going to be hot some days. Special teams, as well. We’re a three-phase unit."
• The blocked punt return for a touchdown was the Steelers second on opening day since 2017. They also blocked a kick they returned for a score in 2017 against the Browns.
"The blocked punt for a touchdown. I mean, goodness gracious. Special teams touchdowns are huge," Roethlisberger said. "(Special teams coordinator) Danny Smith, awesome job."
The Steelers were going to need something like that to win this game. It was very similar to the interception return for a touchdown the Bills got last season right before the half that turned a 7-3 Steelers lead into a 9-7 Buffalo lead.
More often than not, a defensive touchdown or special teams score is the difference when two good teams play.
• Heyward still doesn't get enough credit for how good he is.
Yes, he had just four sacks last season, his lowest total since 2016. But he's a ridiculous force in the middle of the line. And Alualu is a nice running mate next to him until Stephon Tuitt returns.
Alualu just does his job, nothing flashy. But as this game wore on, him holding his ground on some designed runs by Allen coerced the Bills to stop doing that after some early success.
But it was Heyward who was the key, his hustle play on Allen's second run nearly turned that into a game-changing turnover, as he caught Allen from behind and forced a fumble in the second quarter.
"We’re dealing with some injuries with Stephon Tuitt," Heyward said. "To have that rotation outside and then get guys like Chris Wormley and Tyson Alualu, Buggs and Carlos, we’ve got a sound front to go along with it."
• Is it time we stop taking Chris Boswell for granted, as well?
With the Steelers hanging on to a 20-13 lead, they drove to the Buffalo 27 with three minutes remaining. But their next three plays netted them nothing and Boswell trotted out for a 45-yard field goal attempt.
Wind was steady throughout this game, but Boswell booted that kick just as he had done with his previous two much shorter kicks.
"The wind was a factor, but it was not an excuse. It was different," Roethlisberger admitted.
A miss there would have given Buffalo the ball back at the 35 with 2:42 remaining. But there was never a doubt Boswell would make that kick. Since his disaster in 2018, when he made just 13 of 20 field goals, Boswell has made 51 of 54 field goal attempts, with one of the misses coming from beyond 50 yards.
• Rookie punter Pressley Harvin had a mixed bag of results.
Harvin punted five times for an average of 41.4 yards. He did have a net average of 41.2 yards, which was good, and dropped two kicks inside the Buffalo 20, but his 30-yard shanked punt from the end zone in the second quarter with the Bills leading just 3-0 was about as JV as it gets.
Luckily for him, Watt bailed him out with that strip sack to turn the Bills over.
It's just one game, but Harvin needs to be way more consistent.
• The offensive line obviously wasn't great in this game, either. Like everything else, there is an expectation that will continue to get better.
The Bills have a good defensive front, so good, in fact, they were able to have second-round draft pick Boogie Basham inactive for this game.
But there weren't many running lanes for Najee Harris in this game and Roethlisberger bought some time on his own while also being sacked twice.
Harris finished with 45 yards on 16 carries, a 2.8 yards per carry average. But, like the rest of the offense, he was better in the second half. After being limited in the first half, Harris had 37 yards on 9 carries in the second half, a 4.1-yard average.
If the Steelers can get that kind of production out of him on a consistent basis, they'll be fine. Sprinkle in a 25-yard run on an end around, as they did with Chase Claypool, and it will be better.
• It can't be overstated how big of a win this was. The Steelers were pretty happy about it post-game, as well. You could hear players whooping it up as the post-game interviews took place.
"Guys understand what just happened. We played a really good football team," Roethlisberger said. "They returned a lot of players. They were really good last year. And it wasn’t looking pretty early. But we persevered, we fought through it, and we found a way to win. Yeah, guys were excited."
There are only 17 of these games. And to go into a visiting stadium as a 6 1/2-point underdog against a high-quality opponent and have that crowd running for the exits midway through the fourth quarter is a big deal.
It also was an AFC game, which means it counts just a little bit more. This might be one we look back on in December and say it's the reason the Steelers are going to the playoffs.
• The Steelers weren't rotating at inside linebacker. That was Devin Bush and Joe Schobert throughout the game.
The Steelers did take Bush off the field in the dime defense, though that was largely because they were playing zone when they were in the dime. If they wanted to play more man, they would have gone with Bush.
Still, Bush finished tied with Fitzpatrick with 10 tackles and also forced a fumble, while Schobert had six tackles.
That pairing gives the Steelers a lot of flexibility.
