6 immediate takeaways from the Steelers last-minute preseason loss to the Bills

The Pittsburgh Steelers needed a much better performance in preseason Week 3 to gain some confidence following their 17-0 defeat against the New York Jets. The results against the Bills were mixed, to say the least, but it was a big step up from last week nonetheless.

More importantly than the actual result on the scoreboard, however, was getting one final look at this roster before the roster cuts deadline coming up on Sunday, August 30. With most of the Steelers' key starters either resting (or not even making the trip to Buffalo), coaches got to see how the guys fighting for a specific role/roster spot would respond to more playing time.

Some players made a strong impression, some continued to struggle, and others created potential dilemmas for general manager Omar Khan and head coach Mike McCarthy. Here are the most important takeaways from the Steelers' 28-27 loss to the Bills.

Key takeaways from the Pittsburgh Steelers final exhibition game

Will Howard did nothing to prove he deserves a roster spot

Will Howard managed to throw for a pair of touchdowns early against Buffalo, but both came on short fields thanks to special teams blunders. Aside from those scores, Howard largely struggled, going just 7 of 13 for 51 yards and one interception (that looked like a miscommunication) while taking three sacks.

He looked uncomfortable in the pocket, which was made worse by inconsistent pass protection. I had hoped that Howard could push Mason Rudolph for the backup job, but now the question is whether or not he has shown enough for the Steelers to stick to their reported plan of keeping all four of their quarterbacks. In my opinion, the answer is a firm no.

The offensive line depth struggled yet again

In what has become one of the Steelers' more concerning developments this preseason, the backup offensive line struggled again vs the Bills. Most concerning was the play of their top backup tackles, with Broderick Jones and rookie Max Iheanachor both having multiple ugly reps.

Iheanachor at least has the excuse of missing most of the past few weeks of practice, as this game was his first action of the preseason. Jones, however, looks just as unreliable as ever. At this point, Pittsburgh should consider trying to find a suitor for him in a trade before rosters are finalized.

The running game finally showed some life after struggling the first two preseason games

The rushing attack for Pittsburgh has mostly been a train wreck this preseason, averaging just 3.1 yards per attempt over the first two games. While it wasn't anything special, they improved in that area with a 4.2 mark on 23 carries, with Lew Nichols doing most of the damage on his seven carries for 40 yards.

Eli Heidenreich pitched in 35 yards on nine carries, including a touchdown run on a beautiful toss play that Iheanachor helped pave the way for. Again, it wasn't a dominant performance by any means, but it was nice to see the backups be able to move the ball on the ground. It wasn't all good, however...

Kaleb Johnson looked like a player who isn't going to be in Pittsburgh past Sunday

Kaleb Johnson looked dead in the water after Week 1 of the preseason, as he earned just two carries (for just three yards) and barely played in the game overall. Things looked a little better against the Jets, as he earned 10 attempts and managed 39 yards on the ground and pitched in two receptions for 15 yards.

Things took a turn for the worse against the Bills, with Nichols, Heidenreich, and Travis Homer all playing ahead of him. He did get five carries in the second half, but he put up just 11 yards and looked like the least dynamic of the four backs to get touches. Perhaps another team thinks they can get something out of him, but I would be surprised if Johnson is on the final roster one way or another.

The run defense looks to be in good hands, even if the backups are called upon

Pittsburgh rested essentially their entire starting defensive line aside from nose tackle Yahya Black, but they still made life difficult for the Bills' rushing attack all night. If you remove the handoff to receiver Skyler Bell that went for a 28-yard score, Buffalo averaged just 2.7 yards per attempt on 23 carries.

They did allow three rushing scores, but they were all short-yardage plays aside from Bell's touchdown. Gabriel Rubio once again made those who questioned the Steelers' selection of him in the sixth round eat their words, as he made the Bills' backups look silly on multiple reps. The linebackers are still a question mark, but the front looks better prepared to help them plug up the run this season.

Kaden Wetjen was looking rough...until he wasn't

Rookie return specialist/receiver Kaden Wetjen started his Steelers career with a bang, hauling in a quick pass from fellow rookie Drew Allar and taking it 74 yards on his first catch of the preseason against the Packers. He also added a touchdown later on, helping make up for a quiet debut as the team's primary kick and punt returner.

He failed to show the same promise the next week against the Jets, failing to earn a target on offense and fumbling on a return. Things were looking similar for him for the majority of the game against Buffalo, but Wetjen finally got his big moment as a returner in the fourth quarter. The Bills were backed up on their own goal line, and Wetjen took the short punt all the way home for a 45-yard score.

While he was highly unlikely to miss out on a roster spot given his fourth-round draft pedigree, it was admittedly nice to see him actually make a big play in the area he was drafted to impact the most. If he can do that more consistently once the regular season rolls around, fans will quickly forget how highly he was drafted just to return kicks.

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