PITTSBURGH — Justin Fields had a chance to be the hero, and he tried to put the Pittsburgh Steelers on his back, but the backup quarterback was unable to lead a come-from-behind fourth quarter charge to completion, as the Steelers lost, 9-3 to the Buffalo Bills in their second preseason game of the 2024 season on Saturday.
The Steelers offense was stuck in neutral for most of the game, but Fields was able to get things going, mostly with his legs in the second half. He ran eight times for 42 yards to lead the team in addition to completing 10 of 14 for 88 yards.
Twice, Fields led the Steelers all the way into the red zone, but was unable to convert a fourth down to keep things moving. The first time, on a 4th and 2 late in the third quarter, Fields kept the ball on a read-option instead of handing to Aaron Shampklin, and ended up losing seven yards.
The second time, with just over three minutes to play in the fourth quarter, he surveyed the defense and tried to force a pass to a well-covered Connor Heyward. The ball hit his tight end in the hands, but with Kinglsey Jonathan all over him, Heyward was unable to bring it in.
The Steelers defense made a stop to get the ball back, with rookie linebacker Julius Welschof getting a third-down sack to force a punt at the two-minute warning.
On the final offensive drive, Fields was sacked, fumbled a snap and threw incomplete, checked a pass down, and then threw incomplete over the head of a receiver after running around in the pocket to essentially end the game.
In the first half, the teams traded field goals in a dreadful 30 minutes for both offenses. Steelers starting quarterback Russell Wilson finished 8 of 10 for 47 yards, but was sacked three times, losing 21. He had a passer rating of 86.2.
His counterpart, Mitch Trubisky, fared no better. He completed 9 of 13 for 86 yards, but also threw a gift-wrapped interception to Miles Killebrew, setting the Steelers up with great field position. They barely moved the ball, and then Chris Boswell missed a field goal.
Boswell later connected with one, to draw things even just before the half, just after Tyler Bass had given Buffalo a 3-0 lead.
On the first drive of the second half, Buffalo rookie running back Ray Davis took over. Davis ran six times for 51 yards, taking the Bills all the way into the red zone before he was curiously pulled from the game. The drive stalled, and Bass kicked his second field goal. Davis finished with eight rushes for 58 yards to lead all ballcarriers.
The Buffalo reserves continued to dominate the line of scrimmage as Darrynton Evans and Frank Gore Jr. teamed up to provide most of the offense on a 14 play, 71-yard drive that spanned the third and fourth quarters. Once again, it stalled in the red zone and Bass kicked another field goal for the final 9-3 margin.
The Steelers will wrap up their preseason with a trip to visit the Detroit Lions next Saturday.
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