10 Thoughts: Steelers were one superstar short

Jan 15, 2024 at 08:45 PM

Dale Lolley

Contributing Writer/Editor

In the end, one team had its superstar and the other did not.

That was really the difference between winning and losing for the Steelers here Monday against the Bills.

Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen was able to put on the cape when he needed to in this game. It didn't help that the Steelers turned the ball over a couple of times early to spot the Bills a lead.

But when Allen is accounting for four touchdowns, as did in this game, that the end result was only a 31-17 defeat for the Steelers shows some of the grit that this team had.

Especially playing without star outside linebacker T.J. Watt.

The Steelers played the Bills here at Highmark Stadium last season without Watt and the results were even more lopsided than this game. They lost that game, 38-3. And it really wasn't that close.

In this game, they punched and counter punched with the Bills throughout the game. Despite falling behind 21-0, they had adjusted their plan as needed and cut Buffalo's lead to 24-17 with 10:32 remaining.

"We were going back-and-forth," said Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson. "Early in the game, we couldn't get anything going. We started kind of slow. We started figuring stuff out in the second quarter. Before the half, we got a score. We just lost the momentum. It's their home field. Their crowd was a big part of that."

The Steelers knew that was going to be the case going into this game. They knew the Buffalo crowd would be fired up. And they knew the Bills could ride that wave of emotion to an early lead if they let that happen.

That's exactly what Allen did. He was 5-for-5 for 52 yards and a touchdown on Buffalo's opening possession. Then, after a George Pickens fumble, he threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dalton Kincaid on the very next play.

When the Steelers threatened to get back into the game, driving the length of the field before Mason Rudolph was intercepted in the end zone, Allen again threw the big punch, rambling 52 yards for a touchdown to put Buffalo ahead, 21-0.

Against a quarterback such as Allen, you can't make those kind of mistakes.

So, even when the Steelers clawed their way back into this game, he was able to make enough plays to help the Bills pull away once again.

"When we got it down to 7 points, I thought we were going to make a run," said Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward. "It comes back to the defense. We got some penalties that kept the drive alive, and we didn't get off the field. Missed tackling led to a touchdown. We just needed to get the ball back to our offense one more time with a 7-point (game). Then we can make things interesting."

The Steelers might have been able to do that had they had their superstar. But they knew they weren't going to have Watt for this one. It's not like that was a surprise.

His replacements, Markus Golden and Nick Herbig, did a credible job. Golden had three tackles, a sack and a tackle for a loss. Herbig, meanwhile, hustled downfield to recover a blocked field goal to set up a Steelers touchdown. Fellow outside linebacker also added three tackles and a sack a tackle for a loss, as well.

They did their part.

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph (2) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris (22) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Fans during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Fans during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Steelers offense during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Fans during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (39) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Mykal Walker (38) and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Elandon Roberts (50) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Keeanu Benton (95) and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Armon Watts (94) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson (20) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith (56) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph (2), Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones (77), and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris (22) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth (88) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones (77) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (30) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Offense during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (99) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson (20), Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97), and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Keeanu Benton (95) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (24) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (99) and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers safety Eric Rowe (25) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Elandon Roberts (50) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson (18), Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (30), Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14), and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Allen Robinson II (11) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson (18) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris (22) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph (2) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman James Daniels (78) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (14) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell (9) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Markus Golden (44) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Offensive line during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Mason Cole (61) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Fans during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Mark Robinson (93) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Touchdown celebration during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph (2) andPittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III (19) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Taylor Ollason / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III (19) during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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The Pittsburgh Steelers during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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Defense during a postseason Wild Card game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 in Buffalo, NY. (Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers)

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But with the game on the line, that's where Watt is often at his best. That's what sets him apart from other players. He's a superstar for a reason.

Instead, it was Allen, aided by a pair of penalties on Myles Jack, who put the game away. He had a 13-yard scramble for a first down, then drew a penalty on Jack for unnecessary roughness at the end of a two-yard run.

His overall passing numbers – 203 yards – don't look like anything spectacular. But his 74 rushing yards on eight carries were the difference – especially without Watt out there to make plays.

"He's a talented guy. It's hard to keep him contained," conceded Steelers safety Eric Rowe. "He's got the arm talent, but then he moves around, too. It makes it even tougher. We knew that. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get it done."

Had they had Watt, maybe they could have. They would have at least had a better chance to do so.

When the Steelers beat the Bills here in the regular season opener in 2021, it was Watt leading the way, chasing down Allen for a pair of sacks, including one on which he forced a game-changing fumble.

"Obviously missing the best defensive player in the game is a blow," said Steelers defensive back Patrick Peterson. "We knew how much he means to the defense and wrecks the game. When you don't have 90 on the field, other guys get a chance. But 90s different. I definitely wish we had him out there for this one."

• This team grew greatly over the course of this season. And it showed it's a lot closer to a team such as the Bills – who were among the favorites in the AFC to win the conference championship – than it is to the team that was simply outclassed here last year.

These Bills didn't have their way with the Steelers like that group did.

"It hurts and it's frustrating, but I know we're going to build off of this," said outside linebacker Alex Highsmith. "The way we fought at the end of the year, a lot of people counted us out at one point late in the season. We fought and we clawed. The goal wasn't just to make it, so we didn't achieve our goal. So it is frustrating. I love being part of this group and part of this team. I can't wait to get back to it."

While there are some older players on this team, there also is a young nucleus, particularly on offense.

And the growth of that unit gave this team plenty of confidence rolling into this game.

"We were very confident coming into this game," said linebacker Elandon Roberts. "We felt we would win this game."

They certainly could have done so if not for a couple of miscues.

That they were close in this one creates a hunger.

"I'm ready to attack the offseason training," said rookie right tackle Broderick Jones. "I can't wait to come back for another year with the guys."

That's the mantra this team needs to have.

Every season, every team is different. But this team showed this season it can compete if it plays the kind of football it needs to do to be successful – ie. playing fast and physical and taking care of the football.

• Buffalo showed extreme respect for the Steelers' running game.

Typically a two-high safety team against everyone, the Bills played with a safety in the box throughout this game – even when they took a 21-point lead.

They were determined that they weren't going to allow the Steelers to get any kind of footing running the ball.

"Obviously, it was an agenda for them to play one-high," said Steelers running back Najee Harris. "We didn't get ourselves going in the run game."

It was an extreme tip of the cap to the Steelers running game for the Bills to play completely out of character.

"We thought they were going to be more 22-man, two-high, but first play and throughout the game, they were still playing single-high," said Harris. "I was going to Coach T and saying, 'They out of it yet?' We came into the half, they were still in one-high. We obviously have to do better, but you could see their agenda was to stop the run."

The Steelers finished with 106 yards on 23 carries, but it wasn't the kind of running game with which they rolled through their final three opponents to make the playoffs.

The key is to be able to throw an opponent out of that style of defense. If the Steelers can make that adjustment moving forward, they'll be a much more dangerous team.

"They did a really good job of packing the line of scrimmage and forcing us to throw the ball more vertically, probably a little bit more vertically than we wanted to," said Tomlin. "We adjusted. We started doing that, and we started moving the football."

• Rudolph completed 22 of 39 passes for 229 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

That brought his totals in four starts at the end of this season to 945 passing yards, five touchdowns and one interception in his four starts to finish off this season.

Kenny Pickett remains the team's quarterback. Belief in him hasn't wavered.

But it's also OK to acknowledge that Rudolph largely played winning football down the stretch – with his one interception in the end zone in this game being the exception.

"It was a great play by the defender," Rudolph said. "It was kind of a timing deal. I thought he covered (Johnson) well out of his break. He was on his inside hip. I've got to put that ball more on the outside, so it's us or nobody. Like I said, he made a great play."

Those kind of things will happen. Down 21-0 in the first half in Buffalo in a game in which the wind chills hovered around 0 degrees, it would have been easy to quit. The Steelers didn't. The quarterback didn't.

"I thought he was solid. I thought he was competitive," said Tomlin. "His confidence was unshakable. He displayed the things he displayed for the past month or so."

• That the Steelers defense did the kind of things it was able to do this season despite missing Heyward, Fitzpatrick and several other key players at various times speaks volumes about the depth the team built last offseason.

Now, the process starts anew.

Even in this game, playing against Allen, one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, and without Watt, the Steelers forced three three-and-outs on 11 possessions.

The Steelers had three three-and-outs themselves in this game – though they also had a possession late in the game when they went four-and-out, turning the ball over on downs.

"Every year is different," said Roberts. "It's the NFL. Things change every year."

That's certainly true, but the Steelers have a tried and true formula they applied to 2023, one that resulted in winning 10 games, going 5-3 against teams that made the playoffs and 8-5 against teams with winning records.

You don't necessarily run the same team back in 2024. Obviously, they'll get to add to this team in the draft. But adding veteran backups across the board also proved to be a winning formula, as well.

• Credit once again to the Steelers special teams and coordinator Danny Smith.

Perhaps no team in the league blocks kicks better than this one.

And the Steelers' blocked field goal in this game turned the momentum.

Those don't come by accident. The Steelers work hard at getting them.

• Jack was apoplectic at himself for drawing two penalties on Buffalo's final touchdown drive after the Steelers had drawn to with seven points at 24-17 early in the fourth quarter.

The first came on a coverage situation working against tight end Dalton Kincaid.

The flags came out immediately, despite the fact the ball landed 20 yards out of bounds. It appeared Allen was throwing the ball away when Jack and Kincad got tangled up.

After a lengthy discussion, the officials decided to call it a defensive holding penalty.

That in itself would have been bad enough.

But later, Allen scrambled out of the pocket on a dead run. As Jack closed on him, Allen slid to the ground. Jack had already committed to hitting Allen – who earlier had run 52 yards roughshod through the Steelers defense.

Jack tried to turn his body so as not to hit Allen hard. And barely made contact with him. But the flags came out.

"I'm going to figure out how I can do better on that with a guy like that," said Jack. "It's tough when he's coming at you. I'll take the blame for it.

"I tried (to avoid him). I'll take the blame on myself."

• The tough thing about this loss is that there's a good chance the Steelers would have had Watt back for a Divisional Round game at Baltimore.

And the Steelers had beaten the Ravens, 17-10, twice in the regular season, handing them two of their five losses this season.

They wouldn't have been favored to beat the Ravens a third time overall and a second time in Baltimore. But they also wouldn't have been intimidated in any way going to Baltimore, either.

• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast

• In the third quarter, Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was making a tackle on Buffalo wide receiver Stefon Diggs when offensive lineman Conner McGovern came crashing into the pair from behind and caught Porter with a knee to the back of his helmet.

Offensive players crashing into piles from behind the play used to be illegal. But the league, for some reason, decided to change that rule a few years ago.

Porter left this game with a completely unnecessary concussion and did not return.

That's a play that should not be in the game.

"It's a dangerous play," said Rowe. "It's about player safety. You're focused on trying to make a tackle. It was just like a block in the back that they would call. But technically, it's not a block in a back. That's not even a pile push. That's just teeing off. If we did the same thing and cut their knees when they're not looking, they would definitely say something about it."

• Speaking with Bob Labriola in an interview that is run on game day, Tomlin was asked if the fact the Steelers haven't won a playoff game since 2016 is a "rallying point," for this current team.

"Not necessarily for our guys," Tomlin replied. "That's my story. That's not (Nick) Herbig's story. In 2016, Herbig was probably in ninth grade. A guy like Elandon Roberts was playing for another team. It's not their burden to bear. … I don't project my luggage onto them."

Harris, who has been with the Steelers since 2021, was asked about that after the game.

Just in case you think Tomlin was just playing lip service to the question, he most definitely was not.

"I didn't know that," Harris said when asked about it.

Fact is, this team has nothing to do with the team from 2016, the same way the team from 2016 had nothing to do with the one that won the Super Bowl in 2008.

Every team is different. Some of the players might still be the same. But they all have their own stories to write.

Unfortunately for the Steelers, this story ended on a cold, windy Monday night in Buffalo.

10 Thoughts: Steelers were one superstar short

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