Steelers Shut Out Buffalo In ‘Big Ben’s’ Return To Action
Ben Roethlisberger looked sharp in his return to the Pittsburgh Steelers lineup from injury, while the Buffalo Bills offense continued to sputter as the Steelers topped the visiting Bills 17-0 in NFL preseason action. Roethlisberger finished with 168 yards on 15 for 19 passing as Pittsburgh put 17 points on the board for the shutout.
NFL football betting enthusiasts who backed the Steelers cashed their tickets as Pittsburgh covered the -6 price as home favorites. The Steelers are now 2-1 against the number in the NFL preseason, while Buffalo dropped to 1-2-1 ATS. The 17 points went UNDER the total of 36 and represented the Steelers third UNDER in three games.
Roethlisberger was pleased with his performance based on his postgame comments:
“I was really proud of the way the guys were able to move the ball and … change some plays at the line of scrimmage. We made some mistakes early, but then we drove down the field.”
Bills coach Dick Jauron, on the other hand, didn’t have much to be happy about:
“We’ve got a lot of issues that we’ve got to solve. We’ve got to solve them very quickly.”
Buffalo QB Trent Edwards credited the stout Pittsburgh defense which has yet to give up a touchdown in three NFL preseason games:
“That’s a great defense. They’re very talented. On our side, we didn’t get the job done. We left our defense on the field too long. … It is frustrating, but the thing is we have a lot to learn. We’re still fighting and it’s still early.”
The Bills were without their star free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens who missed his third straight game with a sprained toe. The team has already announced that TO wont play in their final preseason contest. One of the receivers who did play, Josh Reed, shared much of his QBs frustration:
“Frustrating. I feel like we’re a much better offense than we showed tonight. It’s still the preseason, but we still want to come out and give a better effort than it felt like we gave tonight.”
Still, Reed wasnt about to say his team was in a state of panic:
“I’ll say we have more of a sense of urgency than panic. We’ve got to make sure everyone’s still on the same page and nobody’s down. We’ve got to keep everybody up and keep pushing.”
Buffalo will conclude their NFL preseason by hosting the Detroit Lions on Thursday night. Pittsburgh will travel to Charlotte, NC for a game against the Carolina Panthers on the same evening. The Bills will open the NFL regular season on Monday night, September 14th in Foxboro, Massachusetts against the New England Patriots. The Steelers will get their 2009 NFL regular season underway several days earlier, hosting the Tennessee Titans on Thursday, September 10th.
Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer specializing in travel, poker and NFL football handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, falconry and deep sea diving. He lives in Las Vegas with four dogs and a pet coyote.
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