Bills Defense Provides Significant Improvement in Preseason Win

When the Buffalo Bills came off the field after their 33-6 loss to the Chicago Bears last weekend, the organization knew that the meaningless game was still not up to the standard they had set under Sean McDermott.

Their recent 9-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday was more like it.

Buffalo sacked Russell Wilson and Justin Fields a combined four times, forced a fumble, and held Pittsburgh's passing offense to a pedestrian 5.1 yards per attempt.

When you have Mike Tomlin disgusted with his own offense's performance, you know you dominated the contest.

"Still J.V. in too many other areas. Still not winning enough possession downs on offense, particularly early," Tomlin told the media after Saturday's game. "In an effort to establish rhythm within plays and develop personality, when you're not winning possession downs early in the game, all of these things get stymied.."

There were plenty of players who stood out for Buffalo in Saturday's win. From Greg Rosseau's 2.5 sacks, Joe Andreessen's game-high 12 total tackles, or Daequan Hardy's two passes defended, the Bills played more like they have over the last decade under McDermott Saturday.

Related: Bills Defeat Steelers with Strong Defensive Performance

It also shows that elite defense can still be found even with the Bills letting go of some of their aging veterans on that side of the ball.

Whatever the case, Saturday was more like it for Buffalo's defense.