The Pittsburgh Steelers were 27-17 winners over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 of the NFL preseason; however, those 27 points came against mostly back-ups. Even Kenny Pickett’s touchdown drive in the starters’ only game action came against a back-up heavy Bucs defense.

Some Steelers fans have stated they will reserve any judgement on the new-look Matt Canada offense until the starters play longer, and go against another starting unit, not just back-ups. The same criticism could be said about the Steelers’ defense who went against a Tampa Bay offense riddled with second string players outside of quarterback Baker Mayfield.

As the Steelers prepare for the Buffalo Bills this Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium, they’ll be seeing more starters than they did last week, which was expected. Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Josh Allen and the starters will play roughly a quarter and a half vs. Pittsburgh.

This per Alaina Getzenberg:

Bills coach Sean McDermott said that QB Josh Allen and the starters will play about a quarter and a half in Saturday's preseason game at the Steelers.

— Alaina Getzenberg (@agetzenberg) August 17, 2023

While the Steelers’ offense in Week 1 of the preseason was their starting unit, their defense certainly wasn’t. T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward, Patrick Peterson and Minkah Fitzpatrick were all given the night off. Markus Golden and Alex Highsmith played just a handful of snaps combined. Joey Porter Jr., Damontae Kazee, Larry Ogunjobi and Keanu Neal were all held out due to injury concerns.

So it wasn’t as if it was the Steelers’ top defense holding the Buccaneers to 7 points through roughly three quarters of play. Nonetheless, a stronger test awaits, and it will certainly be noteworthy who plays, and for how long, on the Steelers side of the docket.

Mike Tomlin is expected to meet with media Thursday to outline this very subject, so be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Bills Saturday night.