Pittsburgh Steelers: Inactives for Week 1 against Bills
The Pittsburgh Steelers have announced their inactives for Week One of the NFL season against the Buffalo Bills. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
Quarterback Dwayne Haskins, inside linebacker Buddy Johnson, defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and offensive lineman Rashaad Coward will all miss the season opener against the Bills.
Haskins was signed this offseason after the Washington Football Team released him. A first-round draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Haskins time in Washington did not end well. But he has found success in his second stint in Pittsburgh, showing the maturity that was missing in his first years in the league.
He did make the 53-man roster, however. The Ohio State product had a successful preseason, completing 37-of-58 passes (63.7 percent) with 379 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Without Haskins available, Oklahoma State product Mason Rudolph will be the backup for Ben Roethlisberger.
Mike Tomlin reveals keys for Steelers ahead of opener
Pittsburgh is currently a 6.5-point underdog heading into its game Sunday. The Steelers will need to play stout defense against Bills quarterback Josh Allen if they want to have a chance to start 1-0. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin joined Bob Pompeani of Pittsburgh’s CBS affiliate to discuss his team’s keys to the game.
“I think we gotta be really good in those weighty moments, particularly early on to minimize the environmental element of the game,” Tomlin said. “We gotta be good on possession downs, those weighty plays. We gotta minimize the crowd’s impact on the game and not energize that group. I think that’s a significant component of it.”
After starting last season 11-0, the Steelers lost four of their last five regular season games, three of which were on the road at Buffalo, Cincinnati and Cleveland.
Buffalo was a big-play team last season. Allen averaged 7.9 yards per play last year, fifth in the NFL. Pittsburgh will look to minimize those chunk pass plays from him Sunday. The Bills finished 15-4 last season, winning the AFC East and making it to the AFC Championship Game before falling to Kansas City.
“I also think the most significant component of it is ball searching and ball security,” Tomlin added. “The last couple times we played these games the turnover game has been significant in terms of determining the outcome. In 2019, I think we threw four interceptions in a 17-10 loss against those guys.
“Last year, you gotta acknowledge that the pick-six prior to half was a significant play of the game in terms of changing the trajectory of the game. The turnover battle is going to be significant.”
On3’s Ashton Pollard contributed to this report.