The Buffalo Bills’ preseason finale home win against the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t come easy, with late-game heroics orchestrated by quarterback Shane Buechele to claim a one-point victory. Scores matter little in preseason, at least beyond those players who help put the points on the board, that is.
For as much as anyone will say these are meaningless games, there’s never anything more at stake for plenty of NFL hopefuls who’ve put in a long spring and summer of work — and many of whom will continue doing so season after season for several years despite the same results. So let’s put to bed the notion that scores don’t really matter in the preseason.
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Winning and losing doesn’t have an impact on the season (apart from the infamy that was the Detroit Lions completely winless season in 2008), but scoring sure can play a huge role in any player’s ability to stick with a team. So too, can big-time performances, the likes of which have spawned countless summer crushes.
But the dog days of summer are coming to an end, and there are a few notable players and situations to account for out of Thursday’s primetime defeat — the first loss in the new Highmark Stadium. Let’s take a less-than-conventional-at-times look at some of those moments.
So who or what stood out, both good and bad, in preseason Week 3? Read on below…
Horns Up: QB Kyle Allen
It’s perhaps odd to include a player who didn’t perform in the preseason finale, especially considering that Shane Buechele played admirably over a full game on Thursday night. This has more to do with Allen not playing, and after head coach Joe Brady said the plan was for both he and Buechele to take snaps in the finale.
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So why the horns up? Allen played really well in two preseason games, going 24-of-28 for 236 yards and one touchdown with a 113.7 QB rating. During the second quarter of play, when president of football operations/general manager Brandon Beane conducted an interview in the broadcast booth, he discussed Allen’s preseason body of work, claiming it to be among the finest he’d seen by a backup quarterback during his tenure with the Bills.
That sounds like a lot of reassuring language toward Kyle Allen’s job status. Unfortunately, that may prove a difficult pill to swallow when talking about Shane Buechele’s future roster spot.
Horns Down (unfairly): QB Shane Buechele
This feels wrong, I understand. Shane Buechele went out and did a heck of a lot behind a makeshift offensive line filled with the deepest depth possible at One Bills Drive. In a game with so much roster gymnastics, Buechele played the role of fourth-quarter comeback artist.
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Why, then, give Buechele a horns down? It’s all about Brady’s decision to sit Kyle Allen. As mentioned above, that move and Beane’s comments on Allen seem to imply he did all possible to win the backup job. History has told us that players who take significant snaps in the final preseason game (and late in action) are often auditioning for other featured opportunities. It’s brutal, unfair, and perhaps unnecessary if NFL owners would simply approve an expanded roster count.
Buechele finished the night going 26-of-38 for 196 yards with one of the best two-point passes in preseason history. Whatever comes of Buechele moving forward, and he at least deserves a featured spot on Buffalo’s practice squad, he should point proudly to his work against these Steelers. He even withstood a nasty-looking potential injury to his left forearm on an early sack.
If there’s still a decision to be made about backup quarterback, it’s due to Buechele’s never-say-die effort and moxie late in action under the primetime lights.
Horns Up: WR Skyler Bell
No wide receiver saw more targets against the Steelers. In fact, the next closest person to Bell’s 10 targets was Gore with five targets. It’s clear that Brady (and perhaps Josh Allen the play caller) wanted to get Bell into rhythm and plenty of snaps heading into Week 1.
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Bell responded well, catching seven passes for 49 yards, and adding one rush for 28 yards. It had been a fairly quiet and disappointing training camp for Bell despite any extra opportunity borne out of injuries to the wide receivers room. While taking the reality of the preseason situation into account, things may have changed to the delight of Bell against the Steelers.
Bell will have an uphill battle as a rookie fighting for snaps with the likes of DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, and Joshua Palmer. Rookie wide receivers often struggle to acclimate against NFL defenses, but this performance should go a long way toward benefiting Bell’s confidence early and often.
Horns Down: Anyone fighting with Skyler Bell for a roster spot
Apart from Bell who caught seven passes on 10 targets, the remainder of Buffalo’s wide receivers totaled six catches on 11 targets. It’s true that Max Tomczak (2) and Trent Sherfield (1) caught every target their way, but it’s eye-opening that Bell caught one more pass on one less total target than the rest of the team’s active wideouts Thursday night.
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There aren’t a lot of spots open at wide receiver, perhaps just one if we consider Bell a lock (he should be a lock). That leaves a lot of questions for a bunch of players who haven’t stood out that often this summer. Who makes Buffalo’s roster as WR6 could come down almost exclusively to their contributions elsewhere. Does that make it more or less likely that someone such as Mecole Hardman Jr. or Sherfield have an inside track over a rookie like Ja’Mori Maclin and Tomczak? What about Dante Pettis’ odds after a fantastic two-point conversion to claim the winning points? We’ll find out soon enough.
Horns Up: RB Frank Gore Jr.
Bloodlines matter, and if the worst anyone can say about Gore is that he looks like a dependable back, you take that every time. But Gore put on a clinic early in action against Pittsburgh. He finished the night with 10 rushes for 27 yards and one touchdown, adding an impressive five receptions (5 targets) for 45 additional yards.
We don’t know yet what the plan is with third-down specialist Ty Johnson, but Gore has now proven capable as a receiver, similar in mold to Ray Davis. With the third quarter dying down, Gore tore off a long gain downfield, ending it by turning inside to welcome defenders instead of running toward safety and out of bounds. That goes a really long way in proving one’s worth to an NFL team. You can be certain everyone on that sideline and in the executive suite noticed that play.
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Gore is the type of player who just gets better with more snaps.
Horns Down (unfairly): RB Ian Wheeler
Ian Wheeler should be viewed as having done nothing to dissuade the Bills from rostering him in some capacity. He may be in a no-win situation simply because of Gore’s recent play. Wheeler is a tough SOB with the ball in his hands, and there’s a ton to love about the way he runs on any down. I could find way to adding both Gore and Wheeler to the 53-man roster if there was cause to roster one less defensive tackle and no fullback.
Teams should want to hold onto the best football players, regardless of position. That doesn’t mean Wheeler (or Gore) should take priority over anyone as QB2, but there may be room to take on less conventional roster measures to keep Wheeler in town.
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If we see Gore as a lock for the practice squad as RB4, then it’s very likely there’s little to no room for Wheeler there unless Ty Johnson’s injury keeps him out in Week 1 and beyond. By all accounts on Thursday, Johnson appeared well on his way to being fully mended.
Don’t be shocked if Wheeler and Gore are a part of the Bills’ plans this season.
Horns Up: K Tyler Bass
Tyler Bass has proven to be an enigmatic kicker the last 12 months, mostly due to his season-ending injury and failure to kick through most of this offseason. Bass has since acquitted himself well, though he hasn’t been flawless. You know what? Who is flawless? Right, no one.
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It may be time to once again rally ’round Bass to give his confidence a massive boost. Anyone who understands kicking specialists knows that mindset plays big into their bucket of successes and failures.
Horns Down: Most of the Bills’ Special Teams units
The good out of the remainder of special teams is that Tommy Doman Jr. looked the part punting Thursday night. He also played well as a kickoff specialist, a role he’d taken on in college.
Unfortunately and after providing a solid base as a reliable punter last season and seemingly running it back this summer, veteran punter Mitch Wishnowsky put together an awful performance in the preseason finale. In total, the Bills’ special teams unit contributed directly to 21 points. That’s almost always a losing formula in an NFL game.
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Was Wishnowsky’s effort enough to cost him his job? Going 2 for 68 yards with a stale loaf of 19 erratic yards out of bounds is not a good look. Yet before anyone jumps off Wishnowsky’s bandwagon, remember that experience counts for a lot at punter, and that’s something Doman has zero of in meaningful NFL games. Every punter will shank a ball here and there. Still, if there was ever a time where incumbent Bills players should feel least secure, it’s now with a mostly new coaching staff.
What does that mean for Ray Davis as a punt returner? It didn’t go well for him against the Steelers, and his fumbled punt led to the Steelers’ first touchdown on the very next play.
Horns Up (with reservation): CB Davison Igbinosun
Davison Igbinosun brings an important element to Jim Leonhard’s defense as a man-cover specialist who isn’t afraid to get (sometimes a little too) close to his responsibility. He’s a rookie and time plus opportunity are necessary before he can fully blossom into the player One Bills Drive prioritized fairly early in the 2026 NFL Draft.
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It won’t often look perfect with Igbinosun in year one, but he should see plenty of action in the right situations.
Horns Down: Maxwell Hairston
It’s pretty interesting that reporters made a point of asking Joe Brady about Maxwell Hairston’s status within the defense. Brady stated that Hairston is one of the team’s starting cornerbacks, and that his playing in the preseason finale had much to do with missing that opportunity in his rookie season.
I’m not convinced. Sure, Hairston may be the Bills’ starting CB2, but the role is probably only penciled in at best right now. Hairston is observably deficient as a man-cover corner, and he missed a key tackle in the open field early against Pittsburgh.
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Hairston is an elite athlete with speed for days, but he may find himself in a platoon with Igbinosun in 2026 — not unlike the situation both Christian Benford and Kaiir Elam dealt with their rookie seasons. As a former first-round pick, you can be sure that Beane and the rest of the organization is pulling for Hairston. That said, he could end up being a poor fit at times for what Leonhard wants to feature in the defensive backfield.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg in what proved to be an entertaining preseason finale.
I’d add an honorary horns down to the local broadcast work. Their failures early caused most of the local viewing audience to miss Pittsburgh’s first touchdown drive right after Davis’ fumbled punt. Then later they were caught in a ridiculously cheesy local add that erased a chance for a live look at a Bills re-punt following a penalty. During halftime, the broadcast again glitched out, freezing for a few minutes during a montage. If nothing else, it makes you appreciate the quality of work by major networks.
Who or what else stood out to you?
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