Too many mistakes
In the end, the Buffalo Bills made too many mistakes to overcome to secure a win in Week 1. In addition to the Bills’ offensive line giving up the pressure they did to the Steelers’ defense, they were called for a number of holding penalties, including two by Dion Dawkins. In a game where the team struggled to move the ball, they couldn’t afford to give yards back on penalties.
However, it wasn’t only the penalties as the Bills offense struggled to hold onto the ball with four fumbles (two by Josh Allen, two by Devin Singletary). While they only lost one, this is just another example of the team not being as sharp as they were last year.
The play though that ultimately decided the game came in the fourth quarter when the Steelers blocked a punt for a touchdown that put them up by 10 points. The Steelers were just coming off the drive that gave them the lead and the Buffalo Bills needed their offense to answer back but ended up going three and out.
They then saw Matt Haack’s punt get blocked and the Steelers were able to recover it for the end zone.
The good news for the Buffalo Bills is that any of the issues is certainly fixable and they did play a good team that will likely be in the playoffs this year. The focus now turns to Week 2 and the Miami Dolphins while correcting some of these issues over the next week.