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Watch: Steelers WR Calvin Austin III Torches Bills with Long Punt Return

Originally posted on Steelers Now | By Alan Saunders | Last updated 8/19/23

PITTSBURGH — Calvin Austin III waited a long time in between his draft day selection as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers and his first game at Acrisure Stadium.

In his first home action in black and gold on Saturday against the Buffalo Bills, he didn’t wait long to make an impact. On his first snap at his new home field, Austin returned a punt 52 yards.

Calvin Austin could bring quite a different dimension to the Steelers return game. One of the best returners in CFB during his time at Memphis. pic.twitter.com/0r6ivUMCWK

— Nick Martin (@themicknartin) August 19, 2023

Austin did not return any punts in his first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, but made plenty of impacts on offense, when he scored a 67-yard touchdown and ran two jet sweeps for 23 yards.

WATCH: Calvin Austin III Burns Tampa Bay Secondary for Long TD

Head coach Mike Tomlin said that he wanted Austin to be able to focus on offense in his first preseason game, before letting him and the rest of the starting specialists free in the second game.

The Steelers’ longest punt return of the 2022 season was 24 yards by Steven Sims. The last time they had a 50-yard punt return in the regular season was Oct. 25, 2020, when Ray-Ray McCloud had a 57-yarder against the Tennessee Titans.

The Steelers scored one play after Austin’s big punt return, with Kenny Pickett hitting Pat Freiermuth for a 25-yard touchdown to give the Steelers a 14-0 lead over the Bills.

This article first appeared on Steelers Now and was syndicated with permission.

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