Relentless pass rush among 5 things worth savoring from Steelers' win at Buffalo

Five things we learned from Steelers 23, Bills 16:

1. Pass rush to judgment

Any concerns about the Steelers being able to piece together a pass rush with Stephon Tuitt on injured reserve, Bud Dupree in Tennessee and T.J. Watt coming off just three practices didn’t last long.

From the start, the Steelers defense swarmed Josh Allen, the Bills’ $258 million quarterback. That was evident not simply by the three sacks, two of which came courtesy of Watt, but also by the number of times Steelers pass rushers were dragged or grabbed trying to get to the quarterback.

Buffalo’s offensive line was flagged six times for holding, four of which were accepted. The Bills had no answer for Cam Heyward swarming up the middle, and Watt, Melvin Ingram and Alex Highsmith coming off the edges in the outside linebacker rotation.

On all but a few times Allen dropped back to pass did the Steelers bring more than four pass rushers. And on those 54 times Allen attempted a pass or was sacked, the Steelers accumulated 30 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Heyward pressured Allen an alarming 12 times, while Watt got to him on seven occasions. Ingram (five) and Highsmith (two) showed that Dupree’s absence wasn’t an issue in the opener.

Defensive coordinator Keith Butler kept his three down linemen and two edge rushers fresh by rotating them regularly. Of the 85 snaps Buffalo had, Watt was on the field for 69 plays, Ingram 54 and Highsmith 46. For all of Heyward’s damage, it came in just 56 snaps.

2. Secondary movement

The Steelers started six rookies, including punter Pressley Harvin III, and the one with the highest snap count was none other than seventh-round defensive back Tre Norwood.

Norwood started at slot corner and was on the field for 80% of the defensive snaps, participating in 68 of 85 plays. Not bad for someone who wasn’t exposed to the position until after the third preseason game.

Although Norwood had limited time to learn slot corner, the Steelers didn’t permit the Bills and Allen to pick on him. That was done by moving Norwood around when the Steelers went to the dime formation.

At times, Norwood dropped back to free safety, allowing All-Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick to be used as a dime linebacker. Fitzpatrick moved into the slot 22 times, according to Pro Football Focus, and he was used in the box on 13 occasions. Arthur Maulet also took snaps in the slot.

Cam Sutton showed his versatility, too, by dropping into the slot 16 times in addition to taking his normal reps on the outside. With newcomer Akhello Witherspoon being scratched, James Pierre played outside whenever Sutton moved inside.

The mixing and matching worked to the extent that Allen had just one pass completion of longer than 16 yards.

3. Sutton on the spot

When the Steelers played the Bills in December at Highmark Stadium, Allen routinely picked on corner Steve Nelson in a 26-15 victory.

Sutton provided the type of coverage the Steelers were seeking when they cut ties with Nelson in March. Case in point: On a third-and-1 pass from the Buffalo 46, the Bills tried a flea-flicker. Sutton didn’t break from his coverage of Stefon Diggs and dived in front of the receiver to swat away the ball.

Sutton also provided tight coverage on Gabriel Davis’ 3-yard touchdown catch, allowing just a sliver of separation on a play that was executed perfectly by the Bills.

Sutton, of course, also happened to make the biggest defensive play of the game when he tripped up Matt Breida for a 7-yard loss on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter. It was one of five tackles he had in the game.

4. Work in progress

The new-look running game resembled the old one in that the Steelers totaled 7 yards rushing in the first half and averaged 3.6 yards per carry for the game, matching their NFL-low average from 2020.

A 25-yard gain on an end around by Chase Claypool contributed greatly to the Steelers finishing with 75 rushing yards. That doesn’t mean Najee Harris’ pro debut was a bust.

Harris played every offensive snap and finished with 45 yards on 16 carries, a meager 2.8 yards per carry. But he showed why the Steelers drafted him in the first round when he ripped off an 18-yard run in the fourth quarter. The long gain put the ball on the Bills 5 and set up Ben Roethlisberger’s touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson on the next play, giving the Steelers their first lead, 13-10.

With Roethlisberger in the shotgun, Harris took the handoff and stutter-stepped while looking for a hole. Finding one on the right side, he burst through the line for his largest gain of the day.

5. Long and short of it

Harvin’s NFL debut was a mixed bag. He placed two of his five punts inside the Buffalo 20, dropping one at the 12 for a fair catch on his first attempt. His final punt was downed at the 9.

Harvin also showed some inconsistency. With the Steelers pinned at their 5 midway through the second quarter, Harvin was tasked with providing a booming punt. Instead, he sent it out of bounds after the ball traveled just 30 yards.

The defense bailed out Harvin with Watt’s strip sack and Heyward’s fumble recovery that gave the ball back to the Steelers.

And thanks to the offense finding stability, Harvin wasn’t called on to punt at all in the second half.