ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Steelers lost another kicker on another kickoff, lost again and head into their final preseason game still trying to find a defense.
The next-to-last preseason game almost always features the first teams playing a full half and maybe even then some. Not in this one. Ben Roethlisberger was gone halfway through the first quarter, giving way to Mike Vick’s Steelers debut, and soon kicker Garrett Hartley left the field unplanned.
Hartley departed with a right hamstring injury that occurred on his kickoff after his 28-yard field goal. Unlike Shaun Suisham, Hartley never ran down field to try to make a tackle. He kicked off and limped off. Steelers Kick Tryout II looms this week.
“It didn’t look positive in terms of the opener” at New England Sept. 10, said coach Mike Tomlin about Hartley’s injury.
It prompted the Steelers to forgo place-kicks the rest of the game. They also seemed to forgo defense on their way to a crushing 43-19 loss to Buffalo to seal their third consecutive losing preseason at 1-3. Four Buffalo quarterbacks completed 30 of 33 passes for 395 yards and a collective 146.8 passer rating with three touchdown passes and no interceptions (the Steelers have just one through four games).
Tomlin spoke as blunt as ever after a preseason game, calling it “disturbing” and saying some of his young players looked like “walking dead.”
“We continue to be slow starters and that’s disturbing,” Tomlin said. “Some of our young guys we pushed through in this game quite frankly who are fighting for jobs are not executing enough details to be strongly in consideration, and that’s disappointing.
“Some of those guys quite frankly look as though they are walking dead.
“Some of that stuff was quite disturbing.”
Roethlisberger, who usually does not play in the final preseason game, completed 2 of 4 passes for 20 yards. Antonio Brown did not have a pass thrown his way. Le’Veon Bell rushed twice for minus-2 yards.
“We didn’t want to play our starters long [Saturday],” Tomlin said. “We play in five games. ... I don’t care whether we play them or not, some of the execution out there was below the line whether it was with our ones, our twos, whatever.”
Vick completed 4 of 5 passes for 106 yards, including his first play — a 63-yard completion to Martavis Bryant before Vick, too, bowed out in the second quarter. Landry Jones finished up and had a 105.2 passer rating with the lone touchdown pass for the Steelers to Bryant in the second quarter from 39 yards.
“I thought it was a good start,” Tomlin said of Vick. “We want to get him some exposure; he’s only been here about five days.”
The Steelers defense seemed to bow out just as the game began. New coordinator Keith Butler changed up some things this year, including more liberal use of the cover-2 in order to keep down the big plays that have gouged their transitioning defense for the past few years.
It did not work, at least in this game. Fred Jackson ripped off a 41-yard run on Buffalo’s first play from scrimmage and it went downhill from there. The Bills’ second series ended with a 67-yard touchdown pass from EJ Manuel to tight end Charles Clay as the Bills ran out to a 23-19 halftime lead.
Buffalo scored 30 consecutive points after the Steelers had led, 19-13. Combined with their 156 yards rushing, the Bills gouged the Steelers for 542 yards on offense.
“I don’t know the particular cause, but I would say it’s just unacceptable,” defensive end Cam Heyward said. “They beat us on all ends. When it rains it pours; that was a clear example out there.”
The Steelers again played without some starters on defense — linebacker Lawrence Timmons, safety Mike Mitchell and end Stephon Tuitt sat out with injuries. They also rotated outside linebackers and pulled others from the game early.
Nevertheless, it has to be troubling for them to watch a defense not come together at a time they were hoping to use for that to happen as they transition to many new faces and their new defensive coordinator.
Even if they play backup Jimmy Garoppolo instead of Tom Brady Sept. 10, the New England Patriots offense has to be smacking its lips to play the kind of defense the Steelers showed Saturday against Buffalo.
“Obviously we’re getting toward the end of this process,” Tomlin said. “Not enough of good body work. In a couple Thursdays from now, we’ll be on the clock. We have to get better and solid in a hurry.”
Bryant, in the run-up to his four-game suspension that could start with that first regular-season game, caught three passes for 138 yards and one touchdown for the Steelers, all in the first half.
After Hartley’s injury, punter Jordan Berry handled the kickoffs for the first time in his life — and received praise from Tomlin for the job he did — but they eschewed anyone else trying a field goal, which caused them to lose at least three points on one occasion.
The Steelers finish preseason play Thursday night at Heinz Field against Carolina — mercifully, especially for their kickers and their defense.
Ed Bouchette: ebouchette@post-gazette.com and Twitter @EdBouchette.
First Published: August 29, 2015, 11:22 p.m.
Updated: August 30, 2015, 12:52 a.m.
