Steelers suffer disheartening injury blows in ugly preseason loss vs. Bills

Outside of a competent performance by Pittsburgh's pass defense, nothing seemed to go right for the Steelers in their second preseason game of 2024 against the Buffalo Bills. Fans wanted to see Russell Wilson and the offense come out swinging. Instead, we were met with flashbacks of Kenny Pickett behind a struggling offensive line.

To make matters worse, the Steelers didn't leave this game unscathed. Pittsburgh sustained four injuries during their Week 2 home game against the Bills -- two of which could prove to be a major blow to the team.

Cornerback Anthony Averett went down with a hamstring injury and linebacker Tyler Matakevich suffered an ankle injury in the 9-3 preseason loss vs. Buffalo. More notably, running back Jaylen Warren sustained a hamstring injury, while linebacker Payton Wilson left the game in concussion protocol.

These injuries came just hours after the Steelers learned they would be without offensive lineman Nate Herbig for an extended period of time after he suffered a serious shoulder injury during Pittsburgh's final training camp practice.

Steelers must err on the side of caution in preseason finale

Mike Tomlin can't be happy about his team's performance. Between the first half of their preseason opener against the Texans and their first half against the Bills, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields have combined to lead the offense to just three total points scored.

Though most teams view Week 2 of the preseason as the 'tune-up' game, Tomlin is going to want to deploy his starters for the preseason finale on the road against the Detroit Lions.

But the Steelers' head coach needs to be careful.

While Tomlin is the last person who wants Pittsburgh to get off to a sluggish start to the 2024 season, his players are dropping like flies and he can't afford more notable injuries before meaningful football even begins. The Steelers' game against the Bills was far from pretty, but it was certainly physical. Russell Wilson was buried into the turf three times in the first half, and Justin Fields took a few big shots.

The last thing this team needs is an injury to one of their quarterbacks entering the season -- especially considering we don't know which one will be leading the charge when September rolls around.

I know Tomlin and the coaching staff are going to want to make up for the team's underwhelming performance in its first two exhibition games, but this cannot come at the cost of added injury risk to their players. Like every team, the Steelers are just going to have to take their lumps early in the season.

Let's hope Jaylen Warren and Payton Wilson can return to the field soon. Pittsburgh is going to need all hands on deck if they want to avoid a poor start to their 2024 season.