Why Steelers have great test in second preseason game

Head coach Mike Tomlin said that all players who are healthy would play in the Steelers' first preseason game. If that remains the same this week, Pittsburgh will have the opportunity to measure its roster against some of the best.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced Thursday that QB Josh Allen and the rest of the team's starters will play about "a quarter and a half" in Saturday's preseason game against the Steelers.

Pittsburgh played most of its starters last week and they looked good. However, it was mostly against backups as the Buccaneers held a lot of their starters out.

Now, the Steelers will get the chance to see if their success last week can continue against more difficult competition, and they have some extra reinforcements expected to play as well.

Tomlin said he is excited to see DT Cameron Heyward, LB T.J. Watt, CB Joey Porter Jr. and others who did not play last week but that the Steelers will be without DT Larry Ogunjobi, S Tre Norwood and LB Nick Herbig.

He added that QB Kenny Pickett and the first-team offense will "play more," which likely has the second-year quarterback excited. 

Pickett's first career start last season was against the Bills in Week 5, but it wasn't pretty for Pittsburgh as it lost 38 to 3 in Buffalo. Pickett threw for 327 yards and one interception in the loss.

If the Steelers play well against the Bills, who made it to the divisional round of the playoffs last season, it will be a sign that they could be a dark horse contender. But if not, Pittsburgh might want to edit its expectations for the 2023 season.