Full coverage - Steelers 23, Bills 16: Don't blame defense, observations, report card and more

The Buffalo Bills looked nothing like a championship contender in their uninspiring season opener, disappointing themselves and a packed house full of fans by blowing a double-digit second-half lead and staggering to a 23-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at Highmark Stadium.

This was a failure by Josh Allen, who misfired throughout the game, including overthrowing a wide-open Emmanuel Sanders for what would have been a first-half touchdown. It was a failure by the offensive line, which was flagged for six holding penalties and often overwhelmed by a four- and even a three-man rush. It was a failure by the coaching staff, particularly the unnecessarily cute play calling in short-yardage situations. And it was a failure by the special teams, which allowed a blocked punt for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, turning a three-point deficit into a surefire defeat.

“We didn’t find one way to take the ball away,” Bills safety Jordan Poyer said, “and that to me was the difference in the game.”

Tre’Davious White came closest on the third play of the second half. His interception in Pittsburgh territory was wiped out by a questionable holding penalty … on himself.

But let’s be real. This mess wasn’t on the defense.

The Bills limited the Steelers’ offense to just 16 points, 252 total yards and just 75 on the ground.

Pittsburgh crossed midfield just once in the first half, at which point Ben Roethlisberger was immediately sacked by Poyer. The Steelers had no points, three first downs and just 54 total yards at intermission. When they finally reached the red zone, they were stuffed – twice – settling for a pair of short field goals in the third quarter after driving to the Bills’ 6- and 2-yard lines.

The Steelers maintained momentum, scoring on all but their final possession of the second half. But Buffalo still owned a 10-6 lead entering the fourth quarter.

10 Observations: Josh Allen nowhere near MVP form in Bills' opening loss

Allen was off target basically all afternoon, as the Bills’ high-powered offense from a year ago never showed up in a 23-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“They played great,” Allen said about his teammates on the defensive side of the ball. “If you look at the game, it’s three phases and I think on their phase, they won. I can’t say the same about the other two phases. So there’s some stuff to clean up. But them being able to kind of bow their backs there, especially like a ‘bend don’t break’ type mentality when it gets down to the red zone and force field goals instead of (allowing) six or seven (points) there, they played well.”

Pittsburgh’s individual stats were pedestrian at best.

Roethlisberger completed just 56% of his passes and was held to 188 yards and a touchdown.

First-round rookie running back Najee Harris was stifled, finishing with 45 rushing yards on 16 carries, just 2.8 yards per touch.

Three questions: The big picture on what went wrong in Bills' loss to Steelers

Here’s the big-picture analysis of the Bills’ season-opening, 23-16 loss to the Steelers.

And this was with nose tackle Star Lotulelei missing the game with a calf injury.

The Steelers were limited to just four of 12 on third down.

They converted on just one of three trips into the red zone.

And the blame for that touchdown rests squarely on the shoulders of Brian Daboll.

The Bills’ heralded offensive coordinator twice went to his bag of tricks in short-yardage situations.

In the first quarter, a flea-flicker on third-and-1 near midfield fell incomplete, leading to a punt. Allen targeted Stefon Diggs, who was well covered.

More galling, in the fourth quarter, the Bills went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 41-yard-line, which was not a bad decision. But the play was indefensible. Allen threw a backward pass to Matt Breida, who lost seven yards, setting up a short field for the Steelers, which they used to take the lead.

“That’s a play that we’ve kind of had in our back pocket and coach calls the play and we go out there and run it,” Allen said. “The guy made a good play. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

He finished 30 of 51 for 270 yards and a first-half touchdown to Gabriel Davis.

Sean McDermott hopped on grenades throughout his postgame press conference, repeatedly shielding his players and staff by saying he had to do a better job.

He was pressed on what exactly that meant as it pertains to that particular fourth-down call.

Quarter by quarter: Penalties, mistakes are Bills undoing in second half

Here is a quarter-by-quarter look at the Bills' loss to the Steelers on Sunday.

“I’m the head coach and I’m the leader of this football team,” McDermott said, “and we’ve got to do a better job. I’ve got to do a better job in that situation. I’m just going to leave it at that.”

Pittsburgh took over on its own 48, by that point its best field position of the game.

It needed just four plays and a 26-yard pass interference penalty on Levi Wallace – on third down – to reach the end zone. The penalty was legit. Wallace never turned his head around to look for the ball on a deep pass down the left sideline intended for Chase Claypool. It gave the Steelers the ball at the 23.

“The third down I thought was the big momentum changer, the third down on the DPI call,” McDermott said.

Harris then ripped off an 18-yard run and Roethlisberger hit Diontae Johnson for a 5-yard score, taking the lead, at 13-10, for the first time with 11:24 to play.

Plays that shaped the game: Blocked punt, short yardage, trick plays foil Bills

Here’s a look at some of the key plays in the Bills’ 23-16 defeat, starting with the decisive special teams turnover.

“This is football,” Poyer said. “You’re going to be put in all sort of situations. It doesn’t matter if the offense turns the ball over at the 3-yard line. You’ve got a blade of grass, you’ve got to defend it. That was a decision that coach made to go for it, and that was the decision that was made. And we had to go out there and now we’ve got to come out and find a way to get a stop. I believe we didn’t get a stop there. And we’ve got to find a way to get a stop when the offense, when we get put in that situation.”

Then Bills continued to implode, giving up another touchdown just 94 seconds later.

The offense went three-and-out, with Allen taking a sack on third down.

Then Matt Haack’s punt was blocked by Miles Killebrew and recovered and returned nine yards for a touchdown by Ulysees Gilbert III, giving the Steelers a 20-10 lead with 9:51 to play.

Steelers 23, Bills 16: How it happened, stars of game, key plays

The game's result had more to do with the Bills’ shortcomings on offense and questionable play-calling than anything Pittsburgh did.

Some fans began heading for the parking lot.

“I wish we could have put on a better show for the fans,” Allen said. “Obviously, that’s not how they wanted it, nor us, so hopefully the next game we’ll be able to go out there and give them something they like. … You can’t expect to beat a good football team when you’re beating yourself.”

The Bills are among the favorites to emerge from the AFC and win the Super Bowl.

This is no time to panic. It’s a long season. And this is only one game.

But they also can’t expect to win homefield advantage throughout the playoffs by taking unnecessary home losses, particularly against opponents in their own conference. The Bills only lost once at home last season and still had to travel for the AFC championship game.

This one counted. Time will tell how much it hurts.

Photos: Bills open season against Steelers

Bad break

Turning point

End zone strike

Celebrating with fans

Upper deck

Trouble

Beasley bounces

VIP fan

Knox

Twisted

Rushing yards

Tracking down the ball

Diggs pulls it in

Full house

Early fumble

Knoxed out

Hard to tackle

Make me wanna shout

Starting early

Air ball

Back to pass

Singletary

Bills Steelers first

Complete

On the run

First down

Nowhere to go

Super Mario

Airing it out

Pittsburgh passer

Coach

Battle of the backs

Tomlin

Big play

Watch now: Bills defender Micah Hyde speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills' Jordan Poyer talks about loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills quarterback Josh Allen speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills lineman Mitch Morse speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills RB Devin Singletary speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills head coach Sean McDermott discusses going for it on fourth down

Sack

Can't hang on to Claypool

Broken play

Brieda from the backfield

Trouble in the secondary

Roethlisberger fires

Big catch

Hanging on

Johnson covers Johnson

QB keeper

Sideline focus

Game changer

Pulling away

Airborne

Harris breaks out

Unanswered points

Hard feelings

Singletary

Facing adversity

Reception

Going nowhere

Flat tire

Sad ending

Motivated for next week

Josh Allen’s MVP candidacy is off to a rocky start.

The Buffalo Bills’ franchise quarterback didn’t exactly look the part during Sunday’s season opener at Highmark Stadium. Allen was off target basically all afternoon, as the Bills’ high-powered offense from a year ago never showed up in a 23-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“It's not what we hope for, what we strive for, how we want to start the season,” a downtrodden Allen said after the game. “That's why we're playing 17. You know, we're not expecting to win them all. We go into each game expecting to win, but we understand that it's a long season. A lot to learn from this tape, honestly starting with me.”

The trouble started early for Allen. The Bills’ quarterback had veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders wide open deep in the first quarter, but overthrew him by at least a couple yards.

“That’s one I need back,” Allen said. “A defense like this gives you that type of opportunity, you've got to execute and make those plays happen. You know, I didn't. We didn't.”

Allen chalked up some of his troubles to being too aggressive, instead of taking what the Steelers were giving him. He pushed back against the idea that he was pressing, although his description sounded … pretty much like that.

Report Card: Questionable coaching calls, offensive failures lead to ugly grades in Bills' opening loss

“There’s some plays he wants back, I know that just talking with him a little bit during the game,” coach Sean McDermott said. “That’s what we all have to do. We all have to do our part. It can’t just be Josh, it’s a team game here.”

Allen’s accuracy, much dissected during his first two years in the league, took a huge step forward in his third season, as he completed nearly 70% of his passes. It was not good enough Sunday, however, as he finished 30 of a career-high 51 attempts for 270 yards and one touchdown. His completion percentage of 58.8% was his lowest in a regular season game since completed 55.8% in the win against Pittsburgh in Week 13 last season. His passer rating of 79.7 also was his lowest since 77.5 against the Steelers. 

Allen’s inaccuracy was a consistent problem. The deep overthrow to Sanders was bad, but the most egregious example may have come in the second quarter, when he fired the ball into the feet of receiver Cole Beasley on a third-and-short play, leading to a Buffalo punt.

Plays that shaped the game: Blocked punt, short yardage, trick plays foil Bills

“We just played Steeler D. We respect Josh Allen and their group, but I have an expectation we’re going to go into every football game like that,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.

Allen had an expectation it would be tough sledding Sunday.

“I think we expected this type of game and this type of game plan from them,” he said. “Make no mistake, they get paid on that side, too, and they've got some really good players over there. They made some plays today.”

To be fair, it wasn’t all on Allen. His offensive line was consistently mauled by Pittsburgh’s pass rush. The Steelers were credited with three sacks and eight quarterback hits. The Bills, though, paid Allen a contract that could be worth more than $250 million this offseason to lift his team on days when nothing else was going right around him.

On Sunday, he was unable to do that. It led to an overall deflating environment for the first game back in front of a full audience since the 2019 season.

Steelers 23, Bills 16: How it happened, stars of game, key plays

The game's result had more to do with the Bills’ shortcomings on offense and questionable play-calling than anything Pittsburgh did.

“I wish we could have put on a better show for the fans and obviously that’s not how they wanted it, nor us,” Allen said. “Hopefully that next game, we’ll be able to go out there and give them something they like.”

2. Levi Wallace had a tough series. The veteran cornerback earned the starting job after beating out Dane Jackson in a training-camp competition. Wallace had mostly a quiet game … until the fourth quarter. He was called for a big pass-interference penalty after not getting his head around in coverage against Steelers receiver Chase Claypool. The penalty went for 26 yards and moved the Steelers to the Buffalo 23-yard line. Two plays later, Wallace was in coverage when Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson made a terrific touchdown catch, which gave Pittsburgh its first lead. Wallace’s coverage was good, but Johnson’s catch was much better.

3. Isaiah McKenzie made a splash early. McKenzie, who has taken over for Andre Roberts as the starting kick and punt returner, took the opening kickoff 75 yards, as Highmark Stadium shook in excitement from the roars of the sold-out crowd. It was Bills' longest non-scoring kickoff return since Leodis McKelvin had an 85-yard return in 2008 at New England. 

Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger calls Highmark Stadium a 'hostile place,' praises Bills fans

McKenzie’s return set the offense up with excellent field position at the Pittsburgh 24-yard line, but the offense couldn’t do anything with it, settling for a 37-yard field goal by Tyler Bass.

On McKenzie’s first punt return, he made a fair catch, but then immediately came off the field and headed to the trainer’s tent on the sideline. A short time later, he went to the locker room and the Bills announced he was questionable to return with a shoulder injury. McKenzie was able to return.

He had a mostly quiet game thereafter, although there was one example of an area in which he’ll need to improve. Instead of running up to make a fair catch of a Pittsburgh punt, he let it bounce, costing the Bills about 10 yards of field position. That was an area in which Roberts consistently made the right decision.

4. Tre White’s would-be interception got wiped out. The Bills’ No. 1 cornerback intercepted Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on Pittsburgh’s first drive of the second half, but the play was wiped out because White was called for holding Johnson. The call was questionable at best, but proved to be a pivotal moment. The Bills beat the Steelers in each of the last two years based largely on the defense’s ability to force turnovers, including five in the 2019 matchup. 

“If we were to find a way to get a takeaway, who knows which way the momentum would’ve swung,” safety Jordan Poyer said.

5. The rotation continued at right guard. The Bills stuck with their plan from the summer of using both Cody Ford and Ike Boettger at right guard. Ford, the third-year pro who was drafted in the second round in 2019, got the start and played the first two series, before being replaced by Boettger for the third offensive series. 

6. Zack Moss was a surprise inactive. Moss, the second-year running back, was a healthy inactive against the Steelers, with the Bills going with Devin Singletary, Matt Breida and Taiwan Jones at running back.

Moss had surgery on his left ankle in January after being hurt in the team’s playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts. He also suffered a hamstring injury during training camp that kept him out for a brief amount of time. Moss worked out on the field early Sunday – an indication he would not play.

Bills insist there will be 'no panic' after disappointing loss in season opener

“Just numbers,” is all McDermott offered by way of an explanation in his postgame press conference.

7. Boogie Basham’s debut will have to wait. The Bills’ second-round draft pick was a healthy inactive against the Steelers. That’s not a huge surprise, as Basham has been with the second- or third-team defense throughout training camp and the preseason. Last year, the Bills also made A.J. Epenesa, their second-round draft pick in 2020, inactive for the season opener.

The Bills’ other inactives were rookie offensive tackle Tommy Doyle and linebacker Andre Smith. Because the Bills did not call any players up from the practice squad and dressed eight offensive linemen, they were able to dress 48 players for the game.

Twitter reactions: Bills fans react to opening loss to Pittsburgh

Frustration boiled among those following the game on Twitter, venting about offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's fourth-down call and displaying shock that reality did not meet expectation. 

8. Star Lotulelei was the Bills’ lone injured player. The veteran defensive tackle was ruled out of game Friday because of a calf injury suffered in the preseason finale against Green Bay. Lotulelei did not participate in practice in the week leading up to the game.

With Lotulelei out, the Bills started defensive tackles Ed Oliver and Vernon Butler Jr., with Harrison Phillips and Justin Zimmer rotating in.

9. Before the game, Brandon Beane did some roster management. According to a report Saturday from ESPN’s Field Yates, the Bills converted $5.2 million of Poyer’s 2021 base salary into a roster bonus, which creates $2.6 million in cap space for this season. According to contracts website spotrac.com, the Bills have $3.36 million in available cap space, which ranks 24th in the NFL. Beane needed to create a bit more of a cushion in case of any necessary roster moves that need to be made during the season.

10. Rochester’s Jamir Jones made his Steelers debut. Jones, a graduate of Aquinas Institute, made the Steelers’ 53-man roster, thanks largely to his performance on special teams this summer. He did not record any statistics.

Photos: Bills open season against Steelers

Bad break

Turning point

End zone strike

Celebrating with fans

Upper deck

Trouble

Beasley bounces

VIP fan

Knox

Twisted

Rushing yards

Tracking down the ball

Diggs pulls it in

Full house

Early fumble

Knoxed out

Hard to tackle

Make me wanna shout

Starting early

Air ball

Back to pass

Singletary

Bills Steelers first

Complete

On the run

First down

Nowhere to go

Super Mario

Airing it out

Pittsburgh passer

Coach

Battle of the backs

Tomlin

Big play

Watch now: Bills defender Micah Hyde speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills' Jordan Poyer talks about loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills quarterback Josh Allen speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills lineman Mitch Morse speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills RB Devin Singletary speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills head coach Sean McDermott discusses going for it on fourth down

Sack

Can't hang on to Claypool

Broken play

Brieda from the backfield

Trouble in the secondary

Roethlisberger fires

Big catch

Hanging on

Johnson covers Johnson

QB keeper

Sideline focus

Game changer

Pulling away

Airborne

Harris breaks out

Unanswered points

Hard feelings

Singletary

Facing adversity

Reception

Going nowhere

Flat tire

Sad ending

Motivated for next week

Somehow the Pittsburgh Steelers fooled the Buffalo Bills’ punt protection team by overloading the left side of the line in the fourth quarter Sunday.

Unheralded backup safety Miles Killebrew broke through the Bills’ line to block Matt Haack’s punt, and linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III scooped it up for a 9-yard touchdown return.

Here’s a look at some of the key plays in the Bills’ 23-16 defeat, starting with the decisive special teams turnover.

1. Blocked punt. It appeared that safety Jaquan Johnson was to blame for allowing Killebrew to break through. Johnson was the up-back on the left side of the punt team, protecting behind the line of scrimmage.

Killebrew lined up over Tyler Matakevich, who was at left guard on the punt protection line. The Steelers looped an extra man, Marcus Allen, over the Bills’ left side. Matakevich let Killebrew go in order to get a block on Allen. Johnson had his eyes to the outside and never got a block on anyone. Killebrew broke inside of Johnson.

Matakevich didn’t want to get specific about the Bills’ protection scheme after the game.

“We’ve got to take a look at that, it’d be too early to tell,” Matakevich said. “Our job is just to go straight back and you pick up a new guy. ... We’ve got to get back to the drawing board and see what happened. Unfortunately, we let a guy through and they made a play.”

Haack is a three-step punter. Corey Bojorquez, the Bills’ former punter, is a two-step punter. However, Killebrew broke through so cleanly he might have blocked the punt regardless of the steps. Haack had only one punt blocked in his previous four NFL seasons. Bojorquez had two punts blocked the previous three seasons.

Three questions: The big picture on what went wrong in Bills' loss to Steelers

Here’s the big-picture analysis of the Bills’ season-opening, 23-16 loss to the Steelers.

Asked if the block was more due to scheme or good individual effort, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said: “Six or half a dozen. I’m appreciative of the effort of Miles, who had the block and O.G., who had the scoop and score. We needed a splash play like that. We spotted them three to start the game.”

Tomlin was referring to the Bills’ opening, 75-yard kickoff return by Isaiah McKenzie.

“So at halftime I heard of the core special teams players, Derek Watt and others, saying we had to even the score from that perspective,” Tomlin said. “We needed splash in that phase of the game.”

2. Fourth-and-1. The Bills went for it on fourth and 1 from the Steelers’ 41 with 13:46 to go.

Twitter reactions: Bills fans react to opening loss to Pittsburgh

Frustration boiled among those following the game on Twitter, venting about offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's fourth-down call and displaying shock that reality did not meet expectation. 

Maybe offensive coordinator Brian Daboll got too cute. Reggie Gilliam was lined up at fullback, in front of running back Matt Breida. Josh Allen took the snap from center and faked a quarterback keeper off right guard. Allen took a step, stopped and pitched backward to his left to Breida, with Gilliam leading the way.

But Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton wasn’t fooled. He slashed into the backfield and tripped up Breida for a 7-yard loss.

“It was just something we had anticipated,” Tomlin said. “They had gotten in that structure a bunch – four, five times in the preseason and just given the dive to the fullback. So we figured that would be the next phase of it, to fake that dive to the fullback and flip the ball out. So we talked about it. But you can’t take anything away from Cam Sutton. Just a really aware play and a big-time football play."

Allen would not have been able to execute a quarterback plunge for the first down on the play. He had done that successfully on a third-and-1 run in the second quarter. But the Steelers pinched their defensive tackles in to cover up the gaps on either side of the center.

10 Observations: Josh Allen nowhere near MVP form in Bills' opening loss

Allen was off target basically all afternoon, as the Bills’ high-powered offense from a year ago never showed up in a 23-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

3. Razzle dazzle. It’s easy to second guess trick plays. When they work you’re a genius. When they don’t, you should have done the obvious.

On a third-and-1 situation from the Buffalo 46 late in the first quarter, Daboll called a flea-flicker, with Devin Singletary pitching back to Allen. The quarterback threw to the left sideline for Stefon Diggs, but the pass was broken up by Sutton.

It was a great play by the Steelers’ fifth-year cornerback. He stayed disciplined by getting on top of Diggs, preventing the deep ball. When Diggs broke off his route and headed to the sideline, Sutton pivoted quickly and deflected an on-target throw.

Quarter by quarter: Penalties, mistakes are Bills undoing in second half

Here is a quarter-by-quarter look at the Bills' loss to the Steelers on Sunday.

4. Deep and incomplete. Against an elite defense, a quarterback doesn’t get too many chances to make a huge play downfield.

Allen took advantage of one, hitting Gabriel Davis for 37 yards up the right seam in the second quarter.

Allen misfired twice when Emmanuel Sanders was wide open deep downfield. The first was on the Bills’ second drive of the game, going into the wind. Sanders got way behind slot cornerback Tre Norwood for what could have been a 55-yard TD. But Allen’s pass into the wide was overthrown by a lot.

“Just a missed play," Allen said. "I got to trust my guys and I got to put the ball where they can make plays. I didn’t on that first one. That’s something I’m going to think about."

Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger calls Highmark Stadium a 'hostile place,' praises Bills fans

"Those fans are awesome. They were loud. It was very, very loud," Roethlisberger said after the game.

Allen had Sanders wide open up the right seam on the first drive of the third quarter for what could have been a gain of about 30 yards. But the pass sailed high and wide to the right.

5. A non-interception. The Bills were up, 10-0, and could have broken the game open on the third play of the second half. Tre’Davious White intercepted a poor Ben Roethlisberger pass to the left sideline at the Steelers’ 46. But White was flagged for defensive holding on Dionte Johnson before the throw. It was a questionable foul that might have been ignored. Furthermore, the officials missed a holding foul against Jerry Hughes, who hurried Roethlisberger into the bad throw.

Photos: Bills open season against Steelers

Bad break

Turning point

End zone strike

Celebrating with fans

Upper deck

Trouble

Beasley bounces

VIP fan

Knox

Twisted

Rushing yards

Tracking down the ball

Diggs pulls it in

Full house

Early fumble

Knoxed out

Hard to tackle

Make me wanna shout

Starting early

Air ball

Back to pass

Singletary

Bills Steelers first

Complete

On the run

First down

Nowhere to go

Super Mario

Airing it out

Pittsburgh passer

Coach

Battle of the backs

Tomlin

Big play

Watch now: Bills defender Micah Hyde speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills' Jordan Poyer talks about loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills quarterback Josh Allen speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills lineman Mitch Morse speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills RB Devin Singletary speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills head coach Sean McDermott discusses going for it on fourth down

Sack

Can't hang on to Claypool

Broken play

Brieda from the backfield

Trouble in the secondary

Roethlisberger fires

Big catch

Hanging on

Johnson covers Johnson

QB keeper

Sideline focus

Game changer

Pulling away

Airborne

Harris breaks out

Unanswered points

Hard feelings

Singletary

Facing adversity

Reception

Going nowhere

Flat tire

Sad ending

Motivated for next week

Week 1: Pittsburgh Steelers 23, Buffalo Bills 16

At Highmark Stadium

Play of the game: Steelers block punt block for TD.

Matt Haack’s punt was blocked by Miles Killebrew and recovered and returned nine yards for a touchdown by Ulysees Gilbert III, giving the Steelers a 20-10 lead with 9:51 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Bills had led the game, 10-0.

10 Observations: Josh Allen nowhere near MVP form in Bills' opening loss

For the record: Bills 0-1, Steelers 1-0.

The Bills open the season with a home loss against what is traditionally one of the top teams in the AFC, but the result had more to do with the Bills’ shortcomings on offense and questionable play-calling than anything Pittsburgh did.

Josh Allen largely struggled, completing 30 of 51 pass attempts for 270 yards, a touchdown and 79.7 passer rating. He twice missed a wide-open Emmanuel Sanders for what would have been touchdowns, sailing a pass over his head in the first half and misfiring terribly in the second, nearly throwing an interception.

The Bills’ defense tightened up in the red zone, holding the Steelers to a pair of short field goals to keep Buffalo in the lead.

But it couldn’t defend a short field after the Bills turned the ball over on downs near midfield and a Bills punt was blocked and returned for a touchdown, essentially sealing the loss.

Stars of the game:

• T.J. Watt, Steelers: Four QB hits and two sacks, including a strip sack.

• Diontae Johnson, Steelers: Five catches, 36 yards, TD

Twitter reactions: Bills fans react to opening loss to Pittsburgh

Frustration boiled among those following the game on Twitter, venting about offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's fourth-down call and displaying shock that reality did not meet expectation. 

• Stefon Diggs, Bills: Game-high nine catches, 69 yards.

• Gabriel Davis, Bills: Two catches, 40 yards, TD.

Fast start: Isaiah McKenzie returned the opening kickoff 75 yards to the Steelers 24-yard line. The Bills couldn’t pick up a first down and settled for a 37-yard field goal from Tyler Bass. It was the first time the Bills scored on their first offensive possession in a season since 2011. Before today, only the Houston Texans had gone longer without scoring points on their first possession of the season (2010), per ESPN Stats & Information.

Bag of tricks backfires: Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll got a little too cute in short-yardage situations.

In the first quarter, a flea flicker on third-and-1 near midfield fell incomplete, leading to a punt. Allen targeted Diggs, who was well covered.

In the fourth quarter, the Bills went for it on fourth-and-1 near midfield. Allen threw a backward pass to Matt Breida, who lost seven yards, setting up a short field for the Steelers.

Next up: at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m., Sept. 19. 

Photos: Bills open season against Steelers

Bad break

Turning point

End zone strike

Celebrating with fans

Upper deck

Trouble

Beasley bounces

VIP fan

Knox

Twisted

Rushing yards

Tracking down the ball

Diggs pulls it in

Full house

Early fumble

Knoxed out

Hard to tackle

Make me wanna shout

Starting early

Air ball

Back to pass

Singletary

Bills Steelers first

Complete

On the run

First down

Nowhere to go

Super Mario

Airing it out

Pittsburgh passer

Coach

Battle of the backs

Tomlin

Big play

Watch now: Bills defender Micah Hyde speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills' Jordan Poyer talks about loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills quarterback Josh Allen speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills lineman Mitch Morse speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills RB Devin Singletary speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills head coach Sean McDermott discusses going for it on fourth down

Sack

Can't hang on to Claypool

Broken play

Brieda from the backfield

Trouble in the secondary

Roethlisberger fires

Big catch

Hanging on

Johnson covers Johnson

QB keeper

Sideline focus

Game changer

Pulling away

Airborne

Harris breaks out

Unanswered points

Hard feelings

Singletary

Facing adversity

Reception

Going nowhere

Flat tire

Sad ending

Motivated for next week

Grading the Buffalo Bills after their 23-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at Highmark Stadium:

Pass offense: D

This was not the start any member of Bills Mafia had in mind for quarterback Josh Allen. He looked rattled from the start against a relentless Pittsburgh pass rush. Call it pressing, call it first-game nerves, call it whatever you want – Allen just wasn’t good enough. The offensive line did him no favors, consistently allowing too much pressure. Allen was sacked three times and hit eight, while offensive linemen were flagged six times for holding, four of which were accepted. The big-play element was sorely lacking. Buffalo had just one completion of more than 16 yards – a 37-yarder to Gabriel Davis in the second quarter. Davis later added a nice 3-yard touchdown catch, but those were his only two catches of the game. Running back Devin Singletary was a nonfactor, with just three catches for 8 yards. No. 1 receiver Stefon Diggs got plenty of looks with a game-high 14 targets, but the Steelers can live with his production on them – nine catches for 69 yards. Slot receiver Cole Beasley was also busy, catching eight passes on 13 targets for 60 yards. Diggs' long catch went for just 13 yards, while Beasley's was 12. About the only good thing that can be said about the passing game is that Allen wasn’t intercepted.

Run offense: C

With Zack Moss a healthy inactive, Singletary figured to dominate the carries among running backs, which he did. He rushed a respectable 11 times for 72 yards, and had a long gain of 25 yards. Matt Breida had four carries for 4 yards – a stat line that was negatively impacted by a disastrous 7-yard loss. (More on that debacle later.) Allen gained 44 yards on nine carries. A good portion of those were designed runs. On short yardage, that makes plenty of sense. Allen did display poor ball security when he scrambled for an 8-yard gain in the second quarter, but he was able to make the recovery. The obligatory Isaiah McKenzie carry didn’t work – he was stopped for a 3-yard loss on his only rushing attempt.

Run defense: B

Ed Oliver showed up with a big tackle for a loss in the second quarter, turning second-and-1 into third-and-5 and helping the defense get off the field. Oliver finished with three tackles. Nickel cornerback Taron Johnson led the Bills with seven tackles. One was particularly impressive. Johnson met Steelers running back Najee Harris straight up in the hole on a second-and-10 play in the second quarter, stopping him after a 2-yard gain. The Bills held Harris, a first-round draft pick from Alabama, to 45 yards on 16 carries. He was the only Pittsburgh running back to log a rushing attempt. Receiver Chase Claypool gained 25 yards on his only rushing attempt. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger also was able to scramble for an 8-yard gain, despite very limited mobility, helping set his team up for an insurance field goal in the fourth quarter.

Three questions: The big picture on what went wrong in Bills' loss to Steelers

Here’s the big-picture analysis of the Bills’ season-opening, 23-16 loss to the Steelers.

Pass defense: B-

Before the game, the Bills would have signed up for holding Roethlisberger to an 18-of-32 passing performance for 188 yards and one touchdown. Mario Addison had a sack-forced fumble, while Jordan Poyer had a sack among the Bills’ six quarterback hits. Johnson had two passes defensed, but was beaten by JuJu Smith-Schuster for a crucial 24-yard gain late in the fourth quarter. The holding penalty against Tre’Davious White that wiped out his interception was questionable at best. There was a coverage breakdown that led to Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth getting open for a 24-yard gain.

10 Observations: Josh Allen nowhere near MVP form in Bills' opening loss

Allen was off target basically all afternoon, as the Bills’ high-powered offense from a year ago never showed up in a 23-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Special teams: D-

McKenzie’s 75-yard punt return is the only thing saving this from a failing grade. As great of a moment as that was, it was easily forgotten in the fourth quarter, when the Steelers blocked Matt Haack’s punt and returned it for a touchdown. It was just the second time Haack has had a punt blocked in his five-year career, and obviously came at a horrible time. It capped a miserable debut for Haack, who averaged just 28.0 net yards on three punts. His lone touchback wasn’t close to staying in the field of play. McKenzie averaged 35.8 yards on four kick returns, but his lone punt return went for just 1 yard. Kicker Tyler Bass made field goals of 37, 25 and 42 yards and has now converted 17 consecutive field goals, just one off the team record set by Rian Lindell.

Steelers 23, Bills 16: How it happened, stars of game, key plays

The game's result had more to do with the Bills’ shortcomings on offense and questionable play-calling than anything Pittsburgh did.

Coaching: F

Sean McDermott reiterated the same comment about 100 times in his postgame news conference: He needs to coach better. No argument here. What happened to the McDermott who showed such aggressiveness on fourth down last year? That went away in the AFC championship game against the Chiefs, and unfortunately didn’t return Sunday. McDermott punted on fourth-and-1 from his own 46-yard line in the first quarter and again on fourth-and-3 from the Pittsburgh 43 on his team’s next possession. That’s absolutely inexcusable. To make matters worse, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll called a flea flicker on the third-and-1 play that came before the punt. With two chances to gain 1 yard, it's no time to get cute. Just run your 237-pound quarterback ahead to gain 3 feet. That wasn’t the worst play call made by Daboll on Sunday, though. That distinction goes to the backward pass to Breida on fourth-and-1 at the start of the fourth quarter. The play was dead in the water, as Breida was blown up almost immediately. “I mean, yeah, I got to do a better job with that,” McDermott said. Again, no argument here. The Bills didn't look ready to play. That's on the coach. Now, it's on him to fix it to get a season with such high expectations on track.

Photos: Bills open season against Steelers

Bad break

Turning point

End zone strike

Celebrating with fans

Upper deck

Trouble

Beasley bounces

VIP fan

Knox

Twisted

Rushing yards

Tracking down the ball

Diggs pulls it in

Full house

Early fumble

Knoxed out

Hard to tackle

Make me wanna shout

Starting early

Air ball

Back to pass

Singletary

Bills Steelers first

Complete

On the run

First down

Nowhere to go

Super Mario

Airing it out

Pittsburgh passer

Coach

Battle of the backs

Tomlin

Big play

Watch now: Bills defender Micah Hyde speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills' Jordan Poyer talks about loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills quarterback Josh Allen speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills lineman Mitch Morse speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills RB Devin Singletary speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills head coach Sean McDermott discusses going for it on fourth down

Sack

Can't hang on to Claypool

Broken play

Brieda from the backfield

Trouble in the secondary

Roethlisberger fires

Big catch

Hanging on

Johnson covers Johnson

QB keeper

Sideline focus

Game changer

Pulling away

Airborne

Harris breaks out

Unanswered points

Hard feelings

Singletary

Facing adversity

Reception

Going nowhere

Flat tire

Sad ending

Motivated for next week

After the game, center Mitch Morse tried to hold on to a positive. 

“I think it’s a great gut check, right?” Morse said. “Very frustrating, but we also know this a great opportunity to learn quite a bit, and intrinsically look into what you can do to keep Josh cleaner, get the guys in the backfield better lanes to run, and go from there.”

In the Bills’ 23-16 loss Sunday to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Buffalo offensive line was overwhelmed. Quarterback Josh Allen was sacked three times, including a strip sack by T.J. Watt, and hit eight times. Morse said a lot of it was self-inflicted, and the group was honest in its self-evaluation.

“We just put ourselves in bad situations, whether it be communication or technique,” Morse said. “We know we have a special guy, No. 17, back there, and it’s our job no matter what the play call is to keep him as clean as possible. And as an offensive line, we know we didn’t do that as well as we could.”

The offensive line was flagged for holding six times, with four of those penalties accepted. The culprits were varied; on the Bills’ second drive of the day, three different players were flagged. Left tackle Dion Dawkins was flagged three times Sunday, after he was only called for one holding penalty all of last year and only three for the entire 2019 season.

Last season, the Bills were called for 24 accepted holding penalties, which second-most in the league and behind only Kansas City. That was nearly nine more than the league average. 

Three questions: The big picture on what went wrong in Bills' loss to Steelers

Here’s the big-picture analysis of the Bills’ season-opening, 23-16 loss to the Steelers.

The Bills emphasized continuity on the offensive line this offseason, keeping the line intact in hopes of best protecting Allen. Contrast that with the Steelers, who started two rookies Sunday. It wasn't just a matter of experience for the Bills, who returned all five starters, including the re-signed Jon Feliciano and Daryl Williams. Cody Ford started and was replaced by Ike Boettger for two series but then Ford returned.

The holding penalties signaled there's still work to be done.  

“Yeah, I think it just comes down to discipline, right? I know for mine, I just need to bring my feet, cover ‘em up, you got a holding call, it was legit,” Morse said. “I think that’s just one of those things that will come down to accountability.”

The accountability should come quickly, given how deep the frustration ran.

“It’s unacceptable. You can’t beat yourself, let’s just start there,” coach Sean McDermott said.

10 Observations: Josh Allen nowhere near MVP form in Bills' opening loss

Allen was off target basically all afternoon, as the Bills’ high-powered offense from a year ago never showed up in a 23-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The penalties were amplified by what they negated.

“The unfortunate thing is that most of the holding calls came with chunk plays,” Morse said. “So not only did we go backwards, but this game is a game of momentum, and for the most part, we kind of shot ourselves in the foot today.”

Surely some of those would-be gains were only possible because of the holding, but the first two erased 23 yards. And the Bills were unable to sustain drives or score for most of the game.

Still, it wasn’t just penalties. The Steelers found the Bills’ offensive line to be porous throughout the day. Asked about the Steelers being effective just rushing four, McDermott pointed to even less.

Steelers 23, Bills 16: How it happened, stars of game, key plays

The game's result had more to do with the Bills’ shortcomings on offense and questionable play-calling than anything Pittsburgh did.

“That, or they rushed three at times even,” McDermott said. “I’ve got to look at that, and I think I already know where I'm at on it, but I got to look at that, and adjustments need to be made.”

In addition to Watt, who had two sacks, defensive tackle Cameron Heyward had one, good for a loss of six yards. Allen said he felt some difference in the Pittsburgh defense compared to past matchups in which the Steelers were more aggressive up front, but said there was nothing unexpected.

“They didn’t pressure as much. They used their front four, and they’ve got a really good front four,” Allen said. “They’ve got some depth there, too, that can make some plays and get after the quarterback a little bit.”

Quarter by quarter: Penalties, mistakes are Bills undoing in second half

Here is a quarter-by-quarter look at the Bills' loss to the Steelers on Sunday.

When running back Devin Singletary finally did get into a groove, he credited the offensive line.

“Big guys up front opening the holes. So all I have to do is run. That’s what it really was,” Singletary said.

He finished with 72 yards on 11 carries, as the Bills had 117 total rushing yards. A large chunk of that came late in the game. 

“It'll be a great opportunity to learn a lot of stuff from this game, but for us, it’s just being accountable to each other and to the team,” Morse said. “And they just got the better of us today, that’s plain and simple.”

Photos: Bills open season against Steelers

Bad break

Turning point

End zone strike

Celebrating with fans

Upper deck

Trouble

Beasley bounces

VIP fan

Knox

Twisted

Rushing yards

Tracking down the ball

Diggs pulls it in

Full house

Early fumble

Knoxed out

Hard to tackle

Make me wanna shout

Starting early

Air ball

Back to pass

Singletary

Bills Steelers first

Complete

On the run

First down

Nowhere to go

Super Mario

Airing it out

Pittsburgh passer

Coach

Battle of the backs

Tomlin

Big play

Watch now: Bills defender Micah Hyde speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills' Jordan Poyer talks about loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills quarterback Josh Allen speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills lineman Mitch Morse speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills RB Devin Singletary speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills head coach Sean McDermott discusses going for it on fourth down

Sack

Can't hang on to Claypool

Broken play

Brieda from the backfield

Trouble in the secondary

Roethlisberger fires

Big catch

Hanging on

Johnson covers Johnson

QB keeper

Sideline focus

Game changer

Pulling away

Airborne

Harris breaks out

Unanswered points

Hard feelings

Singletary

Facing adversity

Reception

Going nowhere

Flat tire

Sad ending

Motivated for next week

Here’s the big-picture analysis of the Buffalo Bills’ season-opening, 23-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers:

Where was the game lost?

In the offensive trench. Pittsburgh has one of the top three front fours in the NFL – maybe No. 1 – and it was the best unit in the game by a lot. To oversimplify, NFL games usually are won either at quarterback or in the trenches.

The Steelers’ defensive game plan was to put the game on the shoulders of their front four. How? They didn’t blitz a lot, unlike in last year’s December loss to the Bills in Orchard Park. Their plan was to force Josh Allen to hit underneath throws, prevent the big play and see if the Bills could execute 12-play scoring drives.

Somewhere along the way, the Steelers figured, one of their stud defensive linemen would derail the drive. That’s exactly how it played out. Pittsburgh blitzed on just one of Allen’s 27 dropbacks in the first half.

Defensive tackle Casey Hayward, who dominated the Bills’ guards last December, did it once again. He gave Jon Feliciano fits. Interior defensive lineman Tyson Alualu was good, too. Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins was great against the Steelers last December. Not this time. Dawkins committed three holding penalties, two against veteran speed rusher Melvin Ingram and one against youngster Alex Highsmith.

Dawkins has played too many good games over the past three years to get panicky about his prospects for the season.

The Bills’ guard play was a concern entering the season. Feliciano and Cody Ford can play. But are they good enough against elite competition? It will be something to monitor.

What’s the biggest second guess?

Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

He has justifiably received almost universal praise over the past three years for his management of the offense.

This game was not one of his finer moments. Daboll showed supreme faith in Josh Allen and the team’s top four wide receivers. That’s going to be a theme of the season. Daboll thinks his four receivers are better than your top four coverage defensive backs.

The Bills are a passing team, and rightly so. But using so many empty-backfield sets puts a ton of pressure on the quarterback and the offensive linemen. The Bills ran an empty backfield on 25 of 79 plays, by The News’ unofficial count. In hindsight, maybe the Bills should have spread out the Steelers and run the ball against “light boxes” (six-man defensive fronts) more often. Devin Singletary looked good. Running him more or having the option of bringing the hammer with No. 2 back Zack Moss could have helped keep the Ingram and T.J. Watt from pinning their ears back and going from 0 to 60 with the pass rush. Moss was inactive.

Daboll has gotten the better of Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler each of the previous two seasons. This time Butler got the better of Daboll.

Where is the Bills’ Super Bowl Bandwagon?

It’s still in the garage – idling.

This is a deep-breath moment for Bills Mafia. Super Bowl talk in September – even for Tom Brady and Tampa Bay – is premature. First things first. Get in position to win the division. Make the playoffs. That means winning a bunch of tough games along the way.

“I know the expectations are high and that comes with the territory,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “But that said, you've got to stay humble and hungry in your approach every week. You guys know it's a week-to-week league, and give credit where credit's due."

The Bills might not face another defense this season as good as Pittsburgh’s. The margin for error against good teams is not huge. You can’t afford six holding penalties. You can’t give up a special teams touchdown. You can’t miss a wide-open receiver for a touchdown against an elite defense.

There were some positives. The Bills’ run defense looked good. The Bills’ pass rush showed some teeth.

It’s dangerous to overreact to anything that happens in Week 1. Maybe the best Bills example was the 2003 opener – 31-0 over New England. Last year, Jacksonville beat Indianapolis in Week 1. The Colts made the playoffs and the Jaguars didn’t win another game.

So it’s on to Miami. Buffalo will need fewer self-inflicted mistakes to beat a good Dolphins team.

Here is a quarter-by-quarter look at the Buffalo Bills' loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

First quarter

Hot start then cold: Isaiah McKenzie had an electric start to the game, with a 75-yard return on the opening kick. He put the Bills at the 24-yard line to start, but they were unable to get a first down. McKenzie later briefly went to the locker room for a shoulder injury, but returned.

Lineup note: Running back Zack Moss was inactive Sunday, which coach Sean McDermott said was “just numbers.” The Bills went with Devin Singletary, Matt Breida and Taiwan Jones, along with fullback Reggie Gilliam.

Second guess: Needing just one yard on third down, the Bills opted for a flea-flicker that resulted in an incomplete pass from quarterback Josh Allen to wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

Start of a trend: Holding was an issue for the Bills offensive line Sunday, and it started early. The Bills were flagged for holding three times on their second drive of the day, though one of those was declined.

Second quarter

Money well spent: On third-and-13, Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt strip sacked Allen, with Cameron Heyward recovering it and putting the Steelers on their 45-yard line. Watt became the highest paid defender in the NFL this week, and finished the game with two sacks.

Three questions: The big picture on what went wrong in Bills' loss to Steelers

Here’s the big-picture analysis of the Bills’ season-opening, 23-16 loss to the Steelers.

Penalty declined: The Bills’ longest play of the day actually came against 12 defenders. Allen’s pass deep middle to receiver Gabe Davis was good for 37 yards, and came as the Steelers had too many men on the field. That didn’t slow Davis, and naturally, the penalty was declined, as the Bills moved into Pittsburgh territory.

A strong stretch: Shortly after the 37-yard pickup, Davis scored Buffalo’s lone touchdown of the day. On third-and-3, Allen found him for the touchdown to cap a 91-yard drive. Those were the only two catches of the day for Davis, who was targeted five times.

Report Card: Questionable coaching calls, offensive failures lead to ugly grades in Bills' opening loss

Difference maker: The Steelers were 0-for-3 on third down in the quarter. With their drives sputtering out, they only had the ball for 5:24 over that stretch. A 10-yard sack by safety Jordan Poyer helped keep one drive short, as Pittsburgh got just one first down in the second quarter. 

Third quarter

End the shutout: The Steelers were shut out in the first half, entering the locker room down 10-0 after two quarters. But they scored on their opening drive of the second half, a 24-yard field goal from Chris Boswell finally getting them on the board.

Canceled out: Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White intercepted Roethlisberger early in the third quarter. However, it was negated by the fact that White was also called for holding on the play. 

10 Observations: Josh Allen nowhere near MVP form in Bills' opening loss

Allen was off target basically all afternoon, as the Bills’ high-powered offense from a year ago never showed up in a 23-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Missed opportunity: Allen missed wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders twice deep on Sunday, the second time coming on the Bills’ first drive of the second half. On that drive, Allen was 3-of-8, including on incompletion on fourth-and-8.

Offense slowing: The Bills offense didn’t score in the third quarter, as the Steelers instead began a streak of 20-unanswered points. Their longest play of the quarter was a 12-yard catch by Cole Beasley, who finished with 60 yards and eight catches on 13 targets. Toward the end of the quarter, Allen’s pass to Beasley was batted at the line.

Fourth quarter

Zebra report: The Steelers’ first touchdown of the game came on a drive extended by a defensive pass interference call. On third-and-7, Roethlisberger was incomplete looking for Claypool. However, Bills cornerback Levi Wallace was flagged for DPI, a 26-yard penalty that moved the Steelers to the Buffalo 23. Pittsburgh capitalized two plays later.

Steelers 23, Bills 16: How it happened, stars of game, key plays

The game's result had more to do with the Bills’ shortcomings on offense and questionable play-calling than anything Pittsburgh did.

A second second guess: The Bills also had an eyebrow-raising play call early in the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-1, they ended up losing seven yards on a pitch to Matt Breida, giving the Steelers the ball on their own 48.

Key play: On the Bills’ next drive after the turnover on downs, they went three-and-out. Things spiraled from there, as Matt Haack’s punt was blocked by Miles Killebrew, and Ulysees Gilbert returned it for a touchdown, putting the Steelers up 20-10.

Run game going: Singletary’s longest run of the day came in the fourth quarter, a 25-yard run to the Pittsburgh 10. He finished the day with 72 yards on 11 carries, 49 of them on four carries in five plays on that drive.

Photos: Bills open season against Steelers

Bad break

Turning point

End zone strike

Celebrating with fans

Upper deck

Trouble

Beasley bounces

VIP fan

Knox

Twisted

Rushing yards

Tracking down the ball

Diggs pulls it in

Full house

Early fumble

Knoxed out

Hard to tackle

Make me wanna shout

Starting early

Air ball

Back to pass

Singletary

Bills Steelers first

Complete

On the run

First down

Nowhere to go

Super Mario

Airing it out

Pittsburgh passer

Coach

Battle of the backs

Tomlin

Big play

Watch now: Bills defender Micah Hyde speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills' Jordan Poyer talks about loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills quarterback Josh Allen speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills lineman Mitch Morse speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills RB Devin Singletary speaks after loss to Steelers

Watch now: Bills head coach Sean McDermott discusses going for it on fourth down

Sack

Can't hang on to Claypool

Broken play

Brieda from the backfield

Trouble in the secondary

Roethlisberger fires

Big catch

Hanging on

Johnson covers Johnson

QB keeper

Sideline focus

Game changer

Pulling away

Airborne

Harris breaks out

Unanswered points

Hard feelings

Singletary

Facing adversity

Reception

Going nowhere

Flat tire

Sad ending

Motivated for next week

Ben Roethlisberger, the 39-year-old quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has played in front of many boisterous crowds in his 17 years in the NFL.

His praise for the Bills fans at Highmark Stadium after the Steelers' 23-16 win on Sunday, then, carries considerable weight.

"That's a hostile place. Those fans are awesome. They were loud. It was very, very loud," Roethlisberger told reporters after the game according to a tweet from Brian Batko, who covers the Steelers for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Roethlisberger has previously lauded Bills fans after the Steelers played here last season and said last week that he was looking forward to playing in front of the Buffalo Mafia. 

10 Observations: Josh Allen nowhere near MVP form in Bills' opening loss

Allen was off target basically all afternoon, as the Bills’ high-powered offense from a year ago never showed up in a 23-16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The near-deafening crowd noise from a packed Highmark Stadium came as a much greater shock to Steelers rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth, who described his reaction to his veteran quarterback after the game. " 'Holy cow, that's loud out there,' " Roethlisberger recollected Freiermuth saying. "I said, 'Yeah, welcome to the NFL.' " 

The return to the approximately 72,000 full capacity in Orchard Park – the first time for a football game since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic – likely amplified the noise for NFL players like Roethlisberger, who played in front of limited fans last season, and Freiermuth, whose Penn State Nittany Lions competed in empty stadiums last fall.

But given the impact of the roughly 6,700 Bills season ticket holders permitted for the team's two home playoff games, especially in the divisional round against Baltimore when crowd noise was enough to force the Ravens into back-to-back timeouts, it's little surprise that 10 times the number of fans – hyped for the season opener after a magnificent 2020 season – would leave a lasting impression on visitors.

[Read more: Jay Skurski's 10 observations from the Bills' loss | Bills Twitter fumes after loss to Pittsburgh]

A new season of Buffalo football roared to life Sunday at Highmark Stadium, but the result – a 23-16 Pittsburgh Steelers win – was not what Bills fans were expecting.

Steelers 23, Bills 16: How it happened, stars of game, key plays

A lackluster offensive performance by Josh Allen's unit was a significant surprise, as an aggressive Steelers defense held last season's high-powered offense to just one touchdown and two field goals.

Frustration boiled among those following the game on Twitter, venting about offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's fourth-down call – which closely preceded the Steelers' go-ahead score – and displaying shock that reality did not meet expectation. 

Discouraging start to the season:

The Bills offense was the problem today which is not what I expected…

— Brendan Gilmer (@BrendanGilmer) September 12, 2021

Every other SB contender showed up today, except for the Bills. There will be a lot of Allen chirping tomorrow and it is 100% deserved.

— Kerry Chella (@CherryKella) September 12, 2021

The Bills make me wanna shout (profanities)

— Max Kalnitz (@Max_Kalnitz) September 12, 2021

Looks like the Bills are pulling a Sabres right now.

— Andrew Bobeck Jr. (@ABobeck94) September 12, 2021

The Bills gotta play their songs from the last album idk if I like the new stuff

— Sports Rock Gods (@jambrones) September 12, 2021

I’m actually glad this is happening. The #Bills need to be humbled, realize they haven’t won anything yet. Sometimes the way to get better is to get punched in the face.

— Christopher Ouimet (@NowThatOuimet) September 12, 2021

The 1972 Dolphins are safe from the Buffalo Bills. 🙃

— ; Scott Michalak (@ScottyMCSS) September 12, 2021

get ready for overreaction monday, bills fans

— Ryan Mura (@RyanMura) September 12, 2021

Offbeat insight from Bills fans:

Also, just because Daboll was good last year, doesn’t mean he is immune from criticism. Today was a truly putrid day from him as a play caller. Yes his QB wasn’t very good today and yes his o line was even worse but he made some horrible, horrible play calls.

— Brandon Buchanan (@The_BBGun) September 12, 2021

Schtop holding, Dion! #Bills

— Deplorable Me (@LKrukowski) September 12, 2021

#Bills 3rd down défense…🗑

— Mattitude (@Buffalucci) September 12, 2021

Something to remember, the Bills were TERRIBLE out of halftime last year

— SmashGraves18 (@SmashGraves18) September 12, 2021

Bills are gonna be so happy they aren’t playing the Steelers D next week

— Ryan Cretacci (@rmc_1492) September 12, 2021

Well, we got the obligatory CBS video shot of Niagara Falls during a Bills game.Waiting for them to show wings at Anchor Bar next because why would they think there's anything else here?#GoBills #BillsMafia #PITvsBUF

— Sail with me into the setting sun (@SethFromThe716) September 12, 2021

The early excitement:

It would appear the Bills are happenin now

— Chris Ostrander (@2ITB_Buffalo) September 12, 2021

I did not make this killer chicken wing dip for nothing, come on @BuffaloBills !! #GoBills #LetsGo 💙🏈❤️

— Elizabeth Anne, LMSW (@SocialWorker4VI) September 12, 2021

hello I have found the youngest fan at the tailgate!! meet Korey Sayles Jr., who is five days old and thriving! 🥺🎉 pic.twitter.com/yBSSQZ1aV9

— katherine fitzgerald 🌵🗞 (@kfitz134) September 12, 2021

That first shout song after a TD hits different

— 𝙏𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙨 (@tailgate_beers) September 12, 2021

Tweets that made us laugh:

Only the first game. Be a goldfish!! Go Bills!!! #billsmafia #tensecondmemory @BuffaloBills

— Brian Moorman (@brianmoorman) September 12, 2021

find someone to hold you like the bills o-line

— katherine fitzgerald 🌵🗞 (@kfitz134) September 12, 2021

Don’t know where my clothes went #Bills

— JB Bickerstaff (@jb9_6) September 12, 2021

Gabriel’s Gate Davis with the TD will someone please acknowledge this is a perfect nickname for him #bills

— Peter Incorvia (@pincorvia) September 12, 2021

Guys I don’t know what’s happening. #GoBills pic.twitter.com/40lgaqyLMV

— Beth Neel (@jrmintneel) September 12, 2021

the best part of this bills game is knowing that I will never work another game day at wegmans. Blessed.

— Tess Rine (@TessRine) September 12, 2021

good news, the bills can be the first team to win a super bowl with a record of 16-1

— Ryan Mura (@RyanMura) September 12, 2021

Traffic heading to Highmark Stadium from the north for today's Buffalo Bills season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers is much greater than normal, according to the Erie County Department of Public Works. 

County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz, citing DPW reports, tweeted this morning that the traffic coming in from the north on the Thruway, Route 219, Abbott Road and Southwestern Boulevard is "insane." He advised fans still heading to the game to consider looping around and approaching the stadium from the south.