Bills throttle Steelers in Kenny Pickett's 1st start

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Too bad for Kenny Pickett that his first NFL start couldn’t have come against the Pittsburgh Steelers defense.

That way he might be savoring a victory instead of enduring one of most lopsided defeats in franchise history.

Pickett could only stand on the sideline Sunday afternoon and watch the Steelers’ injury-riddled defense get picked apart by Josh Allen in a 38-3 defeat to the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.

Allen had 348 yards passing and four touchdown passes in the first half as the Bills (4-1) raced to a 31-3 lead at intermission on their way to sending the Steelers (1-4) to their fourth consecutive defeat.

The margin of defeat was the largest in the Mike Tomlin era and the worst in franchise history since a 51-0 loss to Cleveland in the 1989 season opener. The Steelers also were held to three points in a game for the first time since the 2019 opener at New England.

The defeat, one that gave the Steelers the worst record in the AFC, left Tomlin facing questions about changes to his coaching staff. He already has replaced Mitch Trubisky with Pickett at quarterback, yet coordinator Matt Canada’s offense has produced six touchdowns in four games. That’s one fewer than the Bills put up in 46 minutes Sunday.

“Everyone understands where we are and what transpired today, and it is not cool,” Tomlin said. “You can draw whatever conclusions you want to draw from it. That’s the reality of our business at this level.”

More on the Steelers loss to the Bills:

• Steelers' 38-3 loss to Bills marks most lopsided defeat in Mike Tomlin era, worst since 1989
• Kenny Pickett shows fight in losing 1st start with Steelers
• Steelers lose 4 starters to injury during blowout loss to Bills
• Steelers unhappy no penalty was called on Damar Hamlin hit to QB Kenny Pickett

In the next breath, Tomlin said he expects the Steelers to keep the same routine as far as preparation this week ahead of their game against Tampa Bay (3-2).

“Although today is miserable, we won’t reinvent the wheel,” he said. “We’ll get back to work tomorrow. We’ll evaluate our performance. We’ll own it, learn from it and we’ll begin the process of plotting the course for our next opportunity.”

Of utmost importance is correcting the defensive breakdowns that routinely occurred against the Bills. The Steelers gave up 400 yards in the first half and 552 overall, the most have allowed since 2013 when the Patriots put up 610. They also didn’t get a sack for the second time in four games and have just three in four games without T.J. Watt.

“This is one of those that you don’t forget,” inside linebacker Myles Jack said. “When you travel and go into somebody else’s house and they throw a party like this, it’s never something you forget. It’s something you remember years from now.”

It wasn’t a memorable debut for Pickett, who replaced Trubisky at halftime a week ago against the New York Jets and had a week to prepare for his starting debut.

Pickett completed 34 of 52 attempts for 327 yards with one interception, but he couldn’t get the Steelers into the end zone. In fact, the Steelers failed to produce any points on four trips inside the red zone.

“I felt like we moved the ball,” Pickett said. “We just couldn’t finish, and that’s something we have to fix quickly.”

Allen didn’t have the same issues. He completed 20 of 31 passes for 424 yards. Before he exited with 10 minutes, 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Bills amassed seven pass plays of 24-plus yards and three runs that exceeded 15 yards.

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“That (butt) kicking we just took proves that,” defensive tackle Cam Heyward said about the defense’s lack of execution. “If there is anybody who says they had a great game, you’re not searching hard enough. We’ve all got to own this from top to bottom. It’s a dark day.”

The Steelers defense wasn’t entirely culpable. Chris Boswell missed two field goals, including a 33-yarder. Pressley Harvin had a 26-yard punt, and James Pierre lost a fumble trying to field a kickoff.

On offense, Najee Harris carried 11 times for 20 yards, and Diontae Johnson had a couple more drops while the deficit was manageable.

“Ugly,” Heyward said. “Every facet of the game they won.”

The first breakdown came on the third play of the game. The Bills faced a third-and-10 from their 2, but Allen heaved a deep pass to Gabe Davis that turned into a 98-yard touchdown and Buffalo never looked back. Davis also had a 62-yard touchdown reception in the opening half, and Allen threw TD passes to Stefon Diggs and Khalil Shakir to build the 28-point halftime lead.

James Cook’s 24-yard touchdown run with 14:03 remaining increased the Bills’ lead to 38-3. It came one play after Allen and Diggs hooked up for a 41-yard completion.

In addition to Watt, the Steelers took the field minus starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and strong safety Terrell Edmunds. Defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi and cornerback Cameron Sutton were injured in the second quarter, and cornerback Levi Wallace entered concussion protocol in the second half.

When Wallace exited, the Steelers were down to Pierre and Josh Jackson, promoted from the practice squad, as the starting outside corners. Jackson was beaten on the TD pass to Shakir.

Wallace, starting in place of Witherspoon, and Norwood, filling in for Edmunds, were victimized on the 98-yard touchdown pass. Minkah Fitzpatrick was beaten on the 62-yard touchdown pass.

“We don’t usually do that as a secondary,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was a very unusual game for us, and we take responsibility for it. We gave up big plays to a team that relies on big plays.”

And, in Pickett’s starting debut, the Steelers couldn’t provide many of their own. They had just three plays of 20 yards or longer.

“We have to look in the mirror at ourselves as players and figure out what we have to do better,” Pickett said. “There are fingers to point, but when you look at yourself, you’ll improve a lot faster that way.”