ORCHARD PARK — Skyler Bell had to wait until the preseason finale to get his first taste of an NFL game, but he made it count.
The rookie missed nearly two weeks — including the first two preseason games — with a groin injury. And the fourth-round pick impressed in his debut, catching seven passes for 49 yards, while adding a 28-yard touchdown run in the Buffalo Bills’ 28-27 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Sometimes when you’re hurt and you’re not out there, you get down on yourself a little bit and you kind of be frustrated with, like, ‘I’m not out there, I can’t show myself,’” Bell said. “But you can’t show yourself if you’re not healthy. So I think just being able to get myself back healthy so I can prove what I am is big for me.”
Coach Joe Brady handled the game differently than predecessor Sean McDermott, playing a handful of starters or expected contributors in the game. Bell’s role in the offense hasn’t been revealed yet, as he played deep into the fourth quarter.
But Bell didn’t get any game action and missed a lot of football in general, so the Bills wanted to give him a longer look.
Bell got involved early, snatching a 16-yard pass from quarterback Shane Buechele on the game’s opening drive. Buechele targeted Bell twice on the opening drive 10 times for the game.
“I call it a charge-up,” Bell said. “It just charged me up a little bit. Get that first touch, that first contact, explosive play. I think that gets your receiver going, gets you into the game. It kind of gets your mojo going.”
Hoecht’s debut
The Bills said Michael Hoecht would play in a preseason game and he finally made his long-awaited debut. Hoecht played in his first game since tearing his Achilles tendon Nov. 2, 2025.
The outside linebacker has been adamant he would be ready Week 1, but the Bills have had a thorough plan for him during training camp. His 11-on-11 snaps were limited early and he hasn’t logged significant time with the first-team defense during camp.
Hoecht appeared in the joint practice against the Cleveland Browns last week, but didn’t see any action in the game against the Browns two days later. He played 15 defensive snaps against the Pittsburgh Steelers, plus action on the kickoff and field goal teams.
He wasn’t credited with a tackle.
Bubble battles
The punting battle was already tilting towards Tommy Doman Jr. and the rookie likely locked up the job over veteran Mitch Wishnowsky.
Wishnowsky missed a chunk of camp with an undisclosed injury and didn’t help his cause by shanking his first punt, which traveled just 19 yards and led to a Steelers touchdown. His next punt went 49 yards, but Doman boomed his four punts for an average of 52, with two landing inside the 20 and a long of 59, although one was returned for a touchdown.
Doman also gives the Bills some flexibility with his ability to kick off, a job he handled for Tyler Bass against the Steelers.
Linebacker Keonta Jenkins made an immediate impact, hauling down Steelers quarterback Will Howard on the first defensive play from scrimmage. Jenkins also made a superb open-field tackle on Travis Homer to force a punt on a play that could have been dangerous had Homer broken free.
Buechele played the entire game, finishing 26 of 38 for 196 yards. After Ian Wheeler’s 2-yard touchdown run with 1:06 remaining, Buechele connected with Dante Pettis for the go-ahead two-point conversion.
Bills who did not play: WR Keon Coleman, WR D.J. Moore, RB James Cook, WR Joshua Palmer, LB Terrel Bernard, LB Bradley Chubb, WR Khalil Shakir, QB Kyle Allen, LB Greg Rousseau, QB Josh Allen, S C.J. Gardner-Johnson, CB Dee Alford, S Cole Bishop, RB Ty Johnson, DB Jordan Hancock, LB Dorian Williams, LB Joe Andreessen, CB Christian Benford, C Lloyd Cushenberry III, LB Javon Solomon, C Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, G Austin Corbett, C Connor McGovern, G Alec Anderson, OT Dion Dawkins, OT Jude Bowry, OT Spencer Brown, TE Jackson Hawes, TE Dalton Kincaid, TE Dawson Knox, DT Ed Oliver, DT Deone Walker, DT T.J. Sanders.