Steelers vs Bills: Winners and losers from Week 1 victory

Steelers winner: EDGE defenders

While the Steelers’ defensive line was on point during this first game, no singular position was better than the EDGE defenders.

Let’s get this out of the way now: $28 million a year for T.J. Watt is well worth it.

Despite being limited all preseason as he worked on getting his contract worked out, he came out and dominated. While he only officially registered two sacks, he was a force in the backfield on the regular and dominated the tackles that he faced.

Next up is Alex Highsmith, who had one of the best camps in recent Steelers history. He followed that up a great first game against the Bills. While he didn’t register anything major on the stat sheet, he was a force off the edge and regularly beat his man. Add in some solid run defense and Highsmith had a great debut as a Steelers starter.

Finally, Melvin Ingram looked great in his Steelers debut. He was unstoppable in both the rushing and passing game and the fact that he will be a rotational piece this season is honestly scary. The Steelers found a way to get all three players on the field, and each were effective in their own right.

This edge group is elite this year, and all teams ought to have been put on notice after their performance.