There are weeks in the National Football League that provide no real game highlights worth seeing, and it’s not just the Pittsburgh Steelers it happens to. The nature of the game, itself, is unpredictable and sometimes the mundane is enough to get a win. Losses often present fans with few plays they’d ever want to re-play.
In their second preseason game of 2024, the Steelers lost, 9-3, to the Buffalo Bills; the scoring on both sides done by each teams’ placekickers. It did provide an unusual three plays we felt were noteworthy enough to be considered highlight material, though.
In the fourth quarter, on third and long, Steelers quarterback Justin Fields was nearly swallowed by the Bills pass rush that collapsed Steelers offensive linemen into a pile. Somehow, Fields narrowly escaped and scrambled to his left. Down 9-3, and trying to find a way to get Pittsburgh into the end zone, Fields saw receiver Dez Fitzpatrick narrowly open. Fields, on the run, cocked and threw a pass with zip, showing he doesn’t need a full wind-up to get the ball down field.
Placed in just the right spot, over the raised hands of a Bills defender that was trying to make an intervention, Fitzpatrick was able to make a spectacular catch that required replay for fans to know for sure (due to camera angles) if he’d kept both feet inbounds. The Steelers sideline excitedly indicated it was a catch, and a different angle showed Fitzpatrick had completed it.
The drive stalled on the 11th play when on 4th & 4 at the Buffalo 20, the Steelers opted to go for the conversion and a short Fields pass to the right to Connor Heyward was incomplete, forcing a turnover on downs with just 3:13 left in the game.
What made the play special was that it showcased Fields’ mobility and ability to keep his eyes down the field despite being flushed, and that the Steelers could have a reliable WR2 or WR3 in Fitzpatrick, depending on whether Van Jefferson takes the top spot with George Pickens.
With Calvin Austin battling to maintain a roster spot, and seeming to get lost in the crowd when shorter quarterback, Russell Wilson, was in, Fitzpatrick’s size may determine depth chart position.
There’s one more preseason game left for the Steelers to determine what their initial 53-man roster will be. Every heads-up play can be the difference between starting versus practice squad versus being cut.
