Bills Salvage Late Scores vs. Steelers, Fall in Preseason as Starters Debut

A Jordan Mims touchdown and a late Justin Shorter score allowed the Buffalo Bills to avoid a preseason shutout at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night.

The dream of seeing their team's starters play during the summer quickly became a nightmare for Buffalo Bills fans on Saturday night. Buffalo's premier offense put forth three fruitless drives at Acrisure Stadium, setting the tone for a 27-15 preseason victory for the hosting Pittsburgh Steelers. 

It was clear from the get-go that Saturday wasn't meant to be Buffalo's night. On the Steelers' sixth play from scrimmage, running back Jaylen Warren went the 62-yard distance to open scoring, giving the home team a permanent advantage. A 54-yard return for Calvin Austin III after a three-and-out for Josh Allen and Co. immediately set Pittsburgh up in scoring territory. Kenny Pickett wasted no time taking advantage, finding Pat Friermuth for a 25-yard scoring hook-up. 

"They outcoached us, outplayed us," Bills coach Sean McDermott said.

Salvaging the early offensive woes were Dalton Kinkaid and Gabe Davis. Kinkaid, granted extended opportunities with Dawson Knox held out, leading Buffalo with 45 yards on three receptions. Davis caught 29 on a pair of receptions during his second drive and another deep grab that placed Buffalo deep in Pittsburgh territory was wiped out via penalty.

After misfiring on only one of 15 attempts last weekend against Indianapolis, Matt Barkley struggled to the tune of three interceptions, one of which came in the end zone. Pittsburgh's second offense took advantage of both the turnover and further penalties to add one more score before the half let out, as former Bills thrower Mitchell Trubisky found Conor Heyward from three yards out just before halftime.

Buffalo's reserve defense limited further scoring damage to a pair of Chris Boswell field goals while their offensive counterparts helped dash Pittsburgh's shutout hopes through a two-yard punch-in for Jordan Mims. Buffalo was able to cap things off on a relatively positive note as well: Kyle Allen put forth an eight-play, 90-yard draft capped off by an aerial tally to Justin Shorter from 17 away.

“I thought in the second half guys fought, some inspired football going on there, just not enough in the first half," McDermott said.

The Bills (1-1) conclude the preseason next Saturday afternoon as they head to Soldier Field to battle the Pittsburgh Steelers (1 p.m. ET, WIVB).

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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