Joe Andreessen knew a run play was coming immediately. He bolted into the hold, shoved off Pittsburgh Steelers guard James Daniels and dropped running back Najee Harris for a 1-yard gain.
That was the second play of Andreessen’s first NFL start.
The Lancaster native got the start after the Buffalo Bills opted to sit out starting middle linebacker Terrel Bernard and injuries kept back ups Baylon Spector and Nicholas Morrow from playing. Andreessen made a team-high 12 tackles in a little more than a half of action, showing he may have a future in the NFL.
Andreessen had several bright spots in the 9-3 preseason win, including a pair of tackles behind the line of scrimmage. More than anything, Andreessen flashed his football instincts throughout the game.
“Sometimes you just can’t teach instincts, right?” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I know everyone wants high weight and speed and all that other stuff, but dang it, man, a football player at the end of the day, is what we’re looking at. We’re not looking at track athletes here. We’re looking at football players and he’s a football player.”
Andreessen excelled when he was able to read the play quickly, most often on running plays. That’s what happened on the second play and again on the fourth drive, when he shot through the line and tackled Cordarelle Patterson in the backfield for a loss.
The University at Buffalo alum made correct reads often, seeing a screen pass develop on the third drive, shucking Daniels again and tracking down running back Jaylen Warren for a minimal gain and near the end of the first half when Andreessen saw quarterback Justin Fields contemplating whether to scramble and Andreessen closed in and forced a decision to run. There were also scenarios where Andreessen saw the play correctly, but either took a bad angle or couldn’t finish the tackle.
When Andreessen struggled, it was usually because he had to make a decision on the fly after the snap. He was fooled on an end-around by Steelers receiver Quez Watkins and was tricked twice on the first drive of the second half, first on an 8-yard read-option play by Fields and again on a play-action bootleg.
Andreessen did make up for it, noticing a read-option play and sprinted through a gap to help cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram tackle Fields for a loss on fourth and 2. While Andreessen showed he might have a spot on the practice squad, Saturday didn’t offer a big enough sample size to be considered for the 53-man roster yet.
“The game plan increases, and overall, normally, it’s rather streamlined to where we can get a good evaluation on the players and in terms of allowing them to play fast and not think a lot,” McDermott said. “… We didn’t really have to do anything, cut anything back for Joe.”
The Bills, who are traditionally a zone coverage team, didn’t ask Andreessen to play anything but zone Saturday and the Steelers didn’t test him. Andreessen will have to show he can cover running backs and tight ends on occasion before he can be considered for the final roster, even with a slew of injuries at linebacker.
Brown featured as run game shows improvement
After a dismal showing in the preseason opener against the Chicago Bears, Buffalo’s running game had a bounce-back performance against the Steelers. They went from averaging 3 yards per carry against the Bears to 4.9 Saturday.
Part of it was due to the Bills going to more of their bread-and-butter runs rather than simply testing plays at game speed. After running for 2 yards on four attempts, running back James Cook ran for 25 yards on six attempts in a 17-play sample size.
With Cook in the game, the Bills ran behind right tackle Spencer Brown. On three runs to the right, Cook picked up 12 yards and then caught a 6-yard screen pass to the right.
Even when the Bills ran to the other side, they still had Brown heavily involved in the play. He pulled on a trap play to spring Cook on an 8-yard run to the left, as the Bills netted 13 yards on three plays with Brown pulling from right to left.
When the Bills began to invest more in the running game under offensive coordinator Joe Brady last year, a big key was using Brown and left tackle Dion Dawkins as pullers for Cook to run behind. Both are athletic enough to get to their blocks before Cook, while adding former high school quarterback David Edwards at left guard also gives the Bills mobility they can utilize along the offensive line this season.
“A lot of people out of their guards, some people pull their tackles,” McDermott said. “We probably pull our tackles just as much. But either way, they’re athletic, and as are our guards, and so I think it presents an opportunity for us to do some things from time to time.”
Injuries keep receiver depth uncertain
With Josh Allen sitting out a second consecutive game, Mitchell Trubisky leaving just before halftime due to a knee injury and Ben DiNucci having less than a week in the system, it was difficult to gauge the receiver situation.
The Bills threw on 21 of their 55 plays against the Steelers, with DiNucci only attempting five passes. Marquez Valdes-Scantling also left the game early with a neck injury and will be out multiple weeks, adding another twist in his winding preseason.
Buffalo is still searching for its fifth and sixth receivers, but while Tyrell Shavers tied rookie Keon Coleman with a team-high 31 snaps, Shavers and Justin Shorter were primarily used as blockers during the second half. With the starting offensive line in the game, Coleman, Mack Hollins and Khalil Shakir played each of the first 17 plays of the game, while Curtis Samuel did not play Saturday.
The Bills plan to use two-tight end sets often this season, but it was taken to the extreme in a ground-attack-style against Pittsburgh. They played with two tights on 26 snaps, nearly half of the offensive plays.