Top 3 Things We Learned

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Top 3 things we learned from Bills at Steelers | 2024 Preseason

Aug 17, 2024 at 11:51 PM

Alec White

Content Coordinator

The Buffalo Bills didn't allow a touchdown in Saturday's road preseason game over the Steelers and came away with a 9-3 win.

Here's the top three things we learned about the Bills from their victory.

A full game recap can be found here.

Pass rush sets the tone

Coming off a lackluster defensive performance in the preseason opener, Buffalo went into Saturday's contest with the mentality that they needed to assert themselves, and do it quickly.

It only took the Bills three plays to do so as DE Greg Rousseau came flying off the edge on a third down play to spin down QB Russell Wilson for an 11-yard sack. The next series was equally as impressive with the entire line generating pressure against the Steelers front on first down. Rousseau, along with Ed Oliver, wrapped up Wilson on the play.

To top it off, Rousseau got to Wilson again on the following series, this one being another third down sack for a loss of seven. Rousseau was explosive off the line of scrimmage during the quarter and a half that he played, utilizing his quick twitch get around Steelers OT Broderick Jones.

"Coach McDermott always talks about a line of scrimmage, so being able to go out there and get three sacks in the first two possessions and two sacks on the first two 3rd downs, I feel like it was huge," Rousseau said.

Bills coach Sean McDermott praised the entire defensive unit for the way they played all night, not giving up a touchdown and holding the Steelers to 219 total yards (3.8 yards per play).

"The defense came out with a purpose, and they understood the plan," McDermott said. "They understood what they wanted to get done. And Coach Babich and the defensive staff put together a good game plan."

Linebacker Dorian Williams said that it was a much better result for the defense compared to last week, though he added they've still got work to do on forcing more turnovers.

"That's the standard, though," Williams said of the defensive effort. "Three and out, get off the field, that's what we're all in for, that's what we all want to do. We want to take the ball away a little bit more. But we'll get there."

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Buffalo Joe

Sometimes all you need is a chance. Saturday, undrafted rookie Joe Andreessen made the most of his. In the wake of several injuries at the linebacker position, Andreessen got the start across from Dorian Williams; Terrel Bernard was a healthy non-participant.

Andreessen, a Buffalo native, made impact plays all night, finishing his second professional game with a team-high 12 total tackles, two tackles for a loss and a fourth-down stop in the second half.

"When a young guy gets an opportunity and he makes the most of it's just fun to watch, especially a local guy," McDermott said. "You love stories like that, right? So, real happy for Joe."

The Bills coaching staff told Andreessen two days prior to the game that they planned on starting him. A week ago, the 24-year-old was working through reps with Buffalo's second and third teams. Saturday, he not only got the start, he was also responsible for relaying the play call from DC Bobby Babich to the defense in the huddle.

Defense makin' plays!

📺: @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/k8BPYyNeTc
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) August 18, 2024

"It was definitely a sense of nervousness coming over me when they told me," Andreessen shared. "I'm an undrafted guy, and I looked at it as an opportunity, you know, like nothing to lose. A lot of people aren't really expecting me to make the team."

If Andreessen was nervous to start the game, he didn't show it. Andreessen stuffed former Pro Bowl running back Najee Harris at the line of scrimmage on the second play of the game. From there, the rookie turned into a tackling machine. One of his most eye-catching plays of the night came in the third quarter when he perfectly read a QB keeper by Justin Fields on a fourth down play and brought down the quarterback for a seven-yard loss.

"I was just in my zone. He broke contain. Like I said, there's a lot of open field, so I was trying to check the near hip. I didn't want (Fields) to cut back on me," Andreessen said.

"He's that guy, he went out there… You couldn't sense any fear with Joe," added Rousseau.

While the rookie was glad he got a chance to showcase his talent, he was most proud to get a win for his hometown team.

"I just wanted to win the game really, especially at the end there, it was definitely a close one. And I think that was the most fulfilling part," he said.

Andreessen added that he had several friends and family members in attendance, which made the night all the more special.

Successful joint practice + weather conditions change course for QB1

The Bills announced Friday that they planned to play all of their healthy starters about a quarter and a half against the Steelers. While that held true for almost everyone, the Bills altered that decision for quarterback Josh Allen who warmed up with the team but did not take a snap during the game.

"The reason there was that Josh had a good week of practice, played well in the practice against the Steelers two days ago, and the conditions the way it was, I didn't love that. And then the warmup wasn't a full warm up with the weather the way it was," McDermott said.

Add all of those factors together and it made the most sense for the coach to let his starting QB know the new decision.

Not a fan of the rain. 😂@JoshAllenQB | #BUFvsPIT pic.twitter.com/PcX1lmGs8I
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) August 17, 2024

"Just felt in my gut it was the right thing to do," McDermott said.

That left all of the quarterback reps to go to Mitch Trubisky and newly-signed Ben DiNucci. Trubisky played almost the entire first half before giving way to DiNucci at the two-minute warning.

Trubisky went 9 of 13 passing for 86 yards and an interception. It was later revealed by the team that he is being evaluated for a knee injury. DiNucci saw one series at the end of the first half, then played the rest of the game. He completed 3 of 5 pass attempts for 20 yards.

With DiNucci having little time to prepare this week after being signed by the team on Tuesday, the Bills leaned on their run game in the second half.