CBS Sports leveled with the notion that the Buffalo Bills offense is still going to be pretty good again in 2023. However, the outlet did not let the Bills walk away from their second preseason game without some criticism.
Buffalo lost in tough fashion, 27-15, to the Pittsburgh Steelers. That happened despite the Bills playing plenty of their starters for an extended period, including quarterback Josh Allen and wideout Stefon Diggs.
Because of what unfolded, the Bills were named as a “loser” of the second week of the preseason.
Cause for concern? Pump the brakes? CBS Sports did a bit of both and the main reason for the negatives? The penalty problem.
Not only did Buffalo take 12 of them in the first half against the Steelers, flags were an issue in the team’s preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts as well.
As head coach Sean McDermott admitted, it’s “back to the drawing board” for him to figure out what to do about the problem.
CBS Sports‘ breakdown on the Bills offense vs. the Steelers can be found below:
While the Steelers offense hummed with its starters, the same can’t be said for what was going on with their opponent in the Bills. Josh Allen started this game and the offense was stagnant, punting in all three of their possessions with the MVP candidate under center. That includes two three-and-outs and just 36 yards of total offense. What was particularly frustrating for Buffalo was the penalties. They were called for 13 penalties on the night, including four with the first-team offense. One of those infractions erased what would have been a 35-yard completion from Allen to wideout Gabe Davis.
Buffalo is still expected to be a juggernaut offensively, but they have piled up 21 penalties over two preseason exhibitions. That’ll need to get cleaned up before the start of the regular season.
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