Steelers vs. Bills: Pressure the Word of the Day for Steelers Offense, Defense

If there was one recurrent theme in the Pittsburgh Steelers' 38-7 win over the Buffalo Bills, it was pressure. 

Both the Steelers and Bills defense brought pressure early and often on their opponents' offenses, leaving Ben Roethlisberger and Co. under duress for most of the first half.

The first quarter in particular was the most dismal for the Steelers offense. They netted just three total first downs (two via the rush, one via the pass), were 1-of-5 on third downs and put up just 52 yards on 18 plays with Roethlisberger going 5-of-11 for just 34 yards. He was sacked once and brutalized on nearly every dropback.

The Steelers defense, however, presented just as fiercely as Buffalo's, with end Ziggy Hood and linebacker LaMarr Woodley most loudly making their presence known. After the first half, Pittsburgh's defense had a total of 32 tackles, two sacks and seven quarterback hits. At the beginning of the second half, safety Troy Polamalu had an interception of backup Buffalo quarterback Vince Young; another safety, Robert Golden, picked off Young in the fourth quarter.

The Steelers offensive line didn't look much-improved from their triage unit of thrown-together pieces they were required to field in 2011, and to make matters worse, first-round draft pick guard David DeCastro suffered a serious-seeming right knee injury in the first quarter. The extent of the injury is not yet known while he undergoes further evaluation, but it's clearly the last thing the Steelers offensive line needs with the regular season looming.

With this being a "dress rehearsal" for the regular season, it was not surprising the Steelers offense looked quite different from the run-heavy squad they were in the past two preseason games. There was more passing—albeit with much difficulty until the final drive of the half—and better overall run/pass balance.

Finally, with a dose of no-huddle and the unfortunate situation of being stuck in their own end zone, the Steelers were able to forge a 99-yard scoring drive to close out Roethlisberger's night. They had seven passing first downs in the second quarter, and Roethlisberger threw for a total of 135 yards during that time.

With the pressure on, the Steelers offense stepped up. It effectively ended the Bills' prowess at the pass rush, and their second- and third-team defenses weren't able to contain the passing game of the Steelers' backup unit, with Byron Leftwich at the helm. Leftwich ended his night completing 5-of-8 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

When it came to pressure, the Steelers offense was far better at adapting and making plays, and what started as a messy affair ended up with a very positive outcome. Though DeCastro's injury puts a pall over an underwhelming outing by the team's starting offensive line, the Steelers were able to overcome not only the defensive pressure of the Bills, but the pressure they necessarily had to put on themselves to get something going.

This game was all about pressure—how the Steelers handled it, and how they managed to create some of their own. 

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