nfl

Steelers' Mike Tomlin, Justin Fields didn't mince words about pass protection vs. Bills

08-18-2024
2 min read
Barry Reeger-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a pitiful showing on offense in the preseason Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills, with the team only scoring three points in the losing effort.

Neither Russell Wilson nor Justin Fields were particularly impressive, but a big reason for their struggles was the performance of the offensive line, a unit that showed major flaws in pass protection.

After the game, head coach Mike Tomlin didn't try to sugar coat the group's showing, and called Wilson's performance "an incomplete study" as a result of the problems in front of him.

“We’ve got to do a better job in pass protection than we did, not only in possession downs but just in general,” Tomlin said. “And I was really up front with the group about it in that regard. That can’t be a problem for us. We’ve got to be better than we were tonight in that area.”

Fields ran into much of the same issues Wilson did but was able to make more happen because of his elite running ability. Even still, he only led one scoring drive during the game, which resulted in a field goal in the second quarter.

"They know that we have to be better up front," Fields said of the offensive line. "Coach T made that statement after the game, so like I said, there's room for all of us to be better. Me included."

It remains to be seen if the Steelers will roll their starters out once again in the third preseason game, but they probably should after what we saw on Saturday night.