Steelers overcame adversity to beat the Bills 23-16

If you are a fan of black and blue hard nosed football then Sunday’s Steelers and Bills game was the game for you. It took all 60 minutes and a key special teams touchdown for the Steelers to overcome an early 10-0 deficit. The game started fast, with Isaiah McKenzie returning the opening kickoff 75 yards to set up Tyler Bass' 37-yard field goal.

After the explosive start both teams offenses were stagnant for the remainder of the half before Bills quarterback Josh Allen was able to lead a 13-play, 91-yard drive that ended with his 3-yard touchdown pass to Gabriel Davis on Buffalo's final drive before intermission. The Steelers then would kick it into overdrive. With four consecutive scores to take a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead. The Steelers started the half with two 10-play drives that ended with short Chris Boswell field goals. Their third drive of the half ended with Roethlisberger's 5-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson, who made a circus grab over Levi Wallace.

The final nail in the coffin for the Steelers was Miles Killebrew bursting up the middle to block Matt Haack’s punt, with Ulysees Gilbert scooping up the loose ball and running it in untouched. The ultimate key in this game was the Steelers dominant defense. TJ Watt who just this week became the highest paid defensive player in the league lived up to his pay raise by registering two sacks and a forced fumble he also hit Josh Allen five times.

“I felt fresh all week and I didn’t want to get too confident with how I felt coming into a game atmosphere.” Watt said. “Obviously, all the hype and adrenaline comes with it, but the three-man rotation that we have with Alex [Highsmith] and Melvin [Ingram] is something that’s going to be really special. We are a very unselfish group and that’s why I’m looking forward to playing with both of them.”

The Steelers held the Bills, who averaged over 30 points per game last season and returned almost their entire roster, to 16 points. If this is a sign of things to come then the Steelers are a force to be reckoned with and we may have another version of the vaunted Steel Curtain defense.