It wasn’t the result many expected, and certainly not the one anyone wanted.
The Buffalo Bills dropped their 2021 regular season opener, 23-16, to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. The loss dropped the Bills below the .500 mark for the first time since the 2018 season.
For the first time this year, including the preseason, I have to start with my Arrows pointing Down.
ARROW DOWN:
Fourth down decision making
Bills head coach Sean McDermott elected to punt on two different fourth down situations that he could have gone for - first on a 4th-and-1 from his own 46-yard line, then on 4th-and-3 from the Steelers' 43 one drive later. Quarterback Josh Allen was even imploring his head coach to go for it both times.
Then, there was seriously questionable play calling/decision making on two more fourth downs later in the game.
The first was Allen throwing into, what appeared to be, triple coverage in an attempt to get it to Gabriel Davis on a 4th-and-8 from the Steelers' 35-yard line, then on 4th-and-1 in the fourth quarter with the Bills up 10-6, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll called a fake quarterback sneak and a backward pass to running back Matt Breida that wound up losing seven yards.
The game completely changed from that point forward.
Josh Allen
It certainly wasn’t the worst game Allen has played, but it also wasn’t a very good one from him overall.
Allen completed only 58.8% of his passes, going 31-of-50 for 270 yards and a touchdown. He also fumbled the ball twice, once losing it, and was just generally a little too inconsistent throwing the football, including a missed pass to a wide-open Emmanuel Sanders for, what would have been, a touchdown early in the game.
Offensive line
The Bills' unit in front of Allen gave up three sacks, and also allowed eight total quarterback pressures. They were also called for five holding penalties on the afternoon.
Dion Dawkins
The Bills left tackle was called for three separate holding penalties himself.
Levi Wallace
It was clear Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was picking on the Bills cornerback when he needed a big play, and he got them a few times.
One play was an absolutely huge pass interference call that, although a questionable call, came on a big 3rd-and-7 from mid-field in the fourth quarter. It would have forced Pittsburgh to punt, but instead gave them a first down at the Bills' 23-yard line.
Pittsburgh scored two plays later when Roethlisberger found Diontae Johnson in the back corner of the end zone. He was defended by Wallace, who looked like he had excellent coverage, but tipped the ball up and Johnson made a great grab.
Wallace was also called for a holding penalty late in the fourth quarter.
Blocked punt
Right after the Steelers had taken the lead in the fourth quarter, they forced a three-and-out of the Buffalo offense.
On the ensuing punt attempt, punter Matt Haack had the kick blocked, and it was scooped up for a score by the Pittsburgh return unit. It looked like the Steelers overwhelmed the Bills on the play, and there were several players who beat their blocks.
A blocked punt for a score can always change a game, but this one really hurt the Bills, putting them down by 10 with only 9:45 to play.
Penalties
It wasn’t just the offensive line who had a rough day when it came to penalties.
The Bills were flagged eight times on Sunday, costing the team 81 yards. A way-too-big number for McDermott’s group.
On top of that, several of them wiped out big plays, including an interception by cornerback Tre’Davious White, who was called for holding on the play.
Fumbles
Allen fumbled twice, but so did running back Devin Singletary. Although both of Singletary's fumbles went out of bounds, one cost the Bills time on the clock in the fourth quarter, because he didn’t get out of bounds himself before the ball came loose.
Second half defense
The Bills defense held the Steelers to 53 total yards in the first half. However, the second half was a much different story.
Pittsburgh gained 199 yards in the final two quarters, converted half of their third downs (3-for-6), and also scored on all four possessions until kneeling on the ball at the end of the game.
Big plays given up
The Steelers had four plays of at least 22 yards, and six plays of at least 18 yards.
Not enough big plays on offense
Conversely, the Bills offense had only two plays that went for over 16 yards.
Spoiling good field position
The Bills were set up with some terrific field position, especially in the first half, but could not cash in nearly well enough.
They had first half drive starts at the Steelers' 24-yard line, their own 37, and the Steelers' 35. The end result of those three possessions was a field goal, punt, and a field goal, respectively.
Red zone offense
On top of squandering good starting position, the Bills were inside the Steelers' 20-yard line four different times and came away with one touchdown for a red zone efficiency of only 25%.
ARROW UP:
Opening kickoff
What a great way to start the game for the Bills and their home fans! Isaiah McKenzie had an electrifying 75-yard kick return to start the game, allowing the offense to start at the Steelers' 24-yard line.
Matt Milano
Milano had two big-time hits in the open-field, and otherwise played a solid game overall. The Bills linebacker collected four total tackles, including one for a loss, and a pass breakup.
Devin Singletary
The two fumbles aside (see above), Singletary ran the ball really well, especially the second half. He finished the game with 72 yards on only 11 carries, averaging a whopping 6.5 yards per-carry. Singletary averaged 9.0 yards per-carry in the second half, rushing six times for 54 yards.
Dawson Knox
For as much as Knox has been rightly criticized for dropped passes through his two-year career, he had a really solid day catching the ball on Sunday. The Bills tight end grabbed all four targets that went his way, totaling 41 yards, including one really tough 12-yard grab over the middle.
Stefon Diggs
Despite some of the Bills' offensive woes, Diggs still caught nine passes for 69 yards to lead all receivers for either team in both categories.
Allen’s touchdown throw to Davis
The Bills scored one touchdown on the day. It was a three-yard pass from Allen to Davis just before halftime, and it was a pretty incredible throw to the back of the end zone.
Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton was all over Davis, whose back was completely turned to Allen. Allen threw the ball before Davis broke to his left, and with Sutton between the two. From the back angle, it’s hard to see how Allen even saw Davis, but he did and put it in the only spot the receiver could make the grab.
Davis did an excellent job of getting both feet inbounds, as well.
Defensive job on tight ends
An area that really hurt the Bills last year was defending tight ends. In this game, the Steelers had three different tight ends catch the football, but they all totaled only three catches for 41 yards.
First half defense
The Steelers totaled just 53 yards of offense in the first half. They were only 1-for-6 on third down (16.7%), and were completely shut out on the scoreboard. Pittsburgh had six first half possessions. Five of them resulted in punts and the other was a kneel down at the end of the half.
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