Bills pull off last second comeback to defeat Steelers 28-27

Orchard Park, NY (WGR550) - The Buffalo Bills clawed their way back Thursday night, overcoming a 10-point deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-27 in their third and final game of the preseason.

Bills QB Shane Buechele started and played the entire game for Buffalo, finishing 26/38 for 196 yards passing along with 2 rushes for 13 yards. Josh Allen and the presumed starting offense watched, cheered, and celebrated from the sideline as the Bills backups fought for the few jobs remaining on the Bills roster.

Buffalo started the game with the ball and drove the field to open the scoring with a 33-yard K Tyler Bass field goal. It would be the only point of the game where the Bills had a lead prior to taking the lead with 1:06 remaining.

The Steelers punted the ball on their next possession, with RB Ray Davis in for the Bills to return a punt. Davis lost sight of the ball and muffed the punt, resulting in a Steelers recovery from Brandin Echols at the Bills 13-yard-line. Steelers QB Will Howard took just one play to find Germie Bernard for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 7-3 Pittsburgh.

The Bills would punt on their next drive, a bad 19-yard effort from P Mitch Wishnowsky. Pittsburgh took the ball on the Bills 28-yard-line and took advantage of the bad punt right away, quickly entering the red zone and capping off the drive with a five-yard Will Howard touchdown throw to TE Lake McRee, giving the Steelers a 14-3 lead.

The Bills would punt again to the Steelers on their next drive, but their defense woke up on the following Pittsburgh possession, with a Will Howard pass intended for McRee getting picked off by Bills S Damar Hamlin. The interception lead to Buffalo's first touchdown, driving down the field to the Steelers 1, punching it in off a 1-yard run from RB Frank Gore, Jr. to cut the Steelers lead to 14-10. Both teams would trade a couple of punts before the end of the first half. Fore had a tough day on the ground besides his score, rushing 10 times for 27 yards along with some passing production with 5 receptions for 45 yards.

The Steelers took possession in the 2nd half with a new signal caller, with QB Drew Allar taking over under center. Allar wasted no time, leading the Steelers down the field and setting them up for their next score. RB Eli Heidenreich cashed in with a 9-yard run to extend Pittsburgh's lead to 21-10.

The Bills stuck with Buechele and answered the Steelers with a score of their own. A couple of big chunk passes got the Bills just outside the red zone, leading to rookie WR Skyler Bell's 28-yard run to paydirt, which brought the Bills back within a score, 21-17. In his Bills debut, Bell added 7 receptions for 49 yards to his 28-yard rushing score.

Both teams traded punts to end the 3rd quarter. They each traded punts to start the 4th quarter, but it was Bills rookie Tommy Doman's punt that would end in disaster for Buffalo. Doman's 44-yard punt landed in the hands of Steelers returner Kaden Wetjen, who took it to the house to put the Steelers back up two scores at 27-17. The Steelers went for two but failed to convert, which opened up a tiny window for the Bills to mount a comeback.

The Bills would tack on three points on their next drive with a 42-yard field goal from Tyler Bass, who finished the night perfect going 2/2 on field goals and 2/2 on extra points.

The Steelers tried to close out the game on their following drive, coming up empty on their first three downs and failing to convert 4th. handing the Bills the keys to their own comeback drive. Buechele drove 59 yards down the field, using a huge 40-yard pass interference call on Steelers CB Tamon Lynum to set the Bills up for their go-ahead score. RB Ian Wheeler scampered to the Pittsburgh 1-yard-line before he finished the drive two plays later popping in a 2-yard score to put the Bills within a point. Buechele converted on the two-point attempt on a pass to Dante Pettis, which put the Bills up 28-27. The Bills bottled up the Steelers on the next drive finished things off in victory formation.

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SCORING RECAP

First Quarter:

- 3-0 BUFFALO: Bills Field Goal (9:33) - Tyler Bass' 33-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 13 plays, 59 yards, 5:27

- 7-3 PITTSBURGH: Steelers Touchdown (7:10) - Will Howard's pass short right complete to Germie Bernard for a 13 yard TD. (XP is good)
Drive info: 1 play, 13 yards, 0:06

- 14-3 PITTSBURGH: Steelers Touchdown (2:20) - Will Howard's pass short left complete to Lake McRee for a 5-yard TD. (XP is good)
Drive info: 5 plays, 28 yards, 1:53

Second Quarter:

- 14-10 PITTSBURGH: Bills Touchdown (9:19) - Frank Gore Jr rush up the middle goes for a 1-yard TD. (Tyler Bass XP is good)
Drive info: 6 plays, 49 yards, 2:40

Third Quarter:

- 21-10 PITTSBURGH: Steelers Touchdown (8:55) - Eli Heidenreich rushes right for a 9-yard TD. (XP is good)
Drive info: 11 plays, 68 yards, 6:05

- 21-17 PITTSBURGH: Bills Touchdown (4:49) - Skyler Bell rush to right tackle for 28-yard TD. (Tyler Bass XP is good)
Drive info: 7 plays, 79 yards, 4:06

Fourth Quarter:

- 27-17 PITTSBURGH: Steelers Touchdown (11:11) - Tommy Doman punts 44 yards to BUF 45, Kayden Wetjen returns for a 45-yard TD. (Two point conversion is no good.)
Drive info: 4 plays, -8 yards, 1:39

- 27-20 PITTSBURGH: Bills Field Goal (6:17) - Tyler Bass' 42 yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 9 plays, 41 yards, 4:54

- 28-20 BUFFALO: Bills Touchdown (1:06) - Ian Wheeler rushes up the middle for a 2-yard TD. (Two point conversion is good.)
Drive info: 6 plays, 59 yards, 2:14

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STATS OF THE GAME

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What's next:

With that, the Buffalo Bills 2026 preseason has come to a close, and GM Brandon Beane has a few decisions to make. The Bills have until 6PM Sunday night to narrow their roster down to 53 players along with a 17-man practice squad. From there, the Bills look forward to opening day on September 13th to begin their regular season against the Houston Texans.