3 expectations for the Steelers against the Bills

The Pittsburgh Steelers kick off their first (and only) preseason home game Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills. What can Steelers fans expect in Week 2 preseason?

A healthy dose of the starters

The Bills have already announced that Josh Allen and the starters will get some playing time this Saturday, and the Steelers should give their starters a good amount of playing time.

For the offense, going against one of the premiere defenses in the NFL will help Kenny Pickett and the receivers. While it was great to see the starters have a one-and-done touchdown drive against the Buccaneers, it was largely against their second-team unit. It was still totally reasonable to hop out of your chair and scream “We’re so back” at the top of your lungs, but I’ll do a standing backflip if I see Pickett hit George Pickens on a deep ball over one of the Pro Bowlers in Buffalo’s secondary.

The defense will also benefit from going against a top two quarterback in the league in Allen, as well as Stefon Diggs and rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid. We know what happened when the Steelers last faced the Bills- a 38-3 blowout in the first career start for Pickett. While it is only a preseason game, improvement against Buffalo’s starters would be great to see,

Najee Harris should get a lot of touches

We didn’t really see any of Najee Harris in Week 1. He didn’t get a carry, and he lost yards on the only pass he caught before the Steelers scored and pulled their starters.

Feed Harris, and draw up runs to the left to see how viable that side will be early on in the season. I really want to see him get a solid workload.

A lot of Joey Porter Jr

We didn’t get to see the rookie out of Penn State against Tampa Bay, so this Saturday will serve as his unofficial debut in Pittsburgh. Having him go up against Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis will only make him better. Will he lose some of those matchups? Certainly. However, a trial by fire in preseason play will only help him in the long run. Keep him in throughout the first half and give him as many reps as he can handle.