New return man Steven Sims suffers injury pregame, Steelers muff kickoff early
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Perhaps it was a bad sign for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday that the game hadn’t gotten underway yet, and they’d suffered an injury.
Newly minted return man Steven Sims suffered an eye injury during warm-ups and was not available to play when the game started. That meant that for the Steelers’ first opportunity to field a kick, James Pierre was back deep to field Buffalo’s kickoff following a touchdown.
Pierre muffed that kickoff 1 minute, 8 seconds into the game, and the Bills recovered. They did not score on that possession but won the game 35-3.
Though Sims ultimately did get onto the field, he was spotted in the postgame locker room with a patch taped over his right eye.
“That made things testy for him from a kick return and receiving perspective,” coach Mike Tomlin said, “in terms some blurred vision and stuff like that.”
Sims was in uniform for the Steelers for the first time this season. Tomlin benched Gunner Olszewski for returning duties after Olszewski muffed/fumbled kicks twice over a three-game span and was a gameday inactive Sunday.
Sims was on the field for limited offensive snaps but was not targeted with a pass. He was deep for three Buffalo kickoffs, returning one for 19 yards.
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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