In the wake of the Buffalo Bills‘ 23-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, there were many stats in the boxscore that had fans scratching their heads.
After a 75-yard kickoff return by Isaiah Mckenzie started the season with a bang, the rest of Sunday’s game against the Steelers went the other direction.
While Allen was able to find Gabriel Davis in the endzone for the first touchdown of the season, a punt blocked for a touchdown in the second half by Pittsburgh sucked the air out of Highmark Stadium. After finding themselves in a double-digit hole, the Bills were unable to claw back from a self-inflicted deficit as they dropped to 0-1 on the season.
At the core of their implosion was the combination of multiple drives coming up short, poor offensive line play, questionable play-calling, and lack of solid special teams highlighted the performance. Along the way, there were positives as the defense did look leaps and bounds ahead of where the unit was at this point last season.
All of that said, there were three areas: penalties, fourth-down efficiency, and passing attempts that defined the outcome on Sunday.