Steelers 23, Bills 16: Defense Gets Rave Reviews In Upset Win

Pittsburgh PA

13 September, 2021

9:27 AM

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PITTSBURGH, PA — It wasn't pretty, but spurred by a relentless defense the Steelers initiated a second-half comeback to upset the Buffalo Bills 23-16 in their season opener Sunday. Here's what NFL writers across the country had to say about the game: Brooke Pryor, ESPN: "The Steelers defense was always going to be the strength and that was especially evident as it kept the game close in the first half and spurred the second-half comeback. The offense had to work through growing pains early, but the defense showed Sunday it's more than capable of buoying the entire team." Gary Gramling, Sports Illustrated: "I could still stand to see (the Steelers) open the offense up a little more (the offensive line won't be any worse than last year's edition), but they won on their terms in Buffalo, dominating defensively and hanging around until they could string together a couple of drives and get a couple of turnovers." Kevin Petra, NFL.com: "Josh Allen's potential MVP season started with a dud. The quarterback struggled in every aspect in the loss to the Steelers, dominated by the Pittsburgh defense. After major improvements in 2020, this was closer to the Allen we saw during his first two seasons. The accuracy was all over the place. He still can't find the deep range, and his pocket presence was shaky after getting hit early." John Breech, CBS Sports: "Pittsburgh's defense managed to keep the Steelers in the game despite the offense's early struggles. T.J. Watt's sack-forced fumble of Josh Allen in the first half was part of Pittsburgh's dominant defensive performance. While Buffalo gained 371 total yards, they allowed just 254 passing yards from Allen, who averaged 284 passing yards per game in 2020." Sal Miorana, Rochester Democrat And Chronicle: "One of the hot button topics heading into this season of high expectations was how would the Bills handle playing every game this season with a glowing target on their collective back? One week in, the answer appears to be: not very well." Be the first to know what's happening in your community and region. With a free Patch subscription, you'll always be up to date on local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe.