Broderick Jones' struggles at right tackle against Buffalo serve as microcosm to Steelers' preseason

Much like the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense this preseason, Broderick Jones’ play against Buffalo on Saturday night was a case study in Murphy’s law.

Anything that could go wrong did for the former first-round pick in the Steelers’ 9-3 loss to the Bills.

Jones was beaten on two of the Bills’ three sacks while starting quarterback Russell Wilson was in the game. On both occasions, Jones was fooled by Buffalo defensive end Greg Rousseau, who virtually went untouched en route to dropping Wilson.

“For us as an offense we’re trying to always have an extra emphasis on starting fast and being physical,” Jones said Tuesday when the Steelers returned to practice. “I feel like I didn’t set the tone from the beginning of the game.”

On the 11 plays when he lined up in pass protection, Jones allowed two sacks and a hit on Wilson. It wasn’t the type of play the Steelers envisioned for Jones in his transition from left tackle to right.

Jones had alternated snaps at both positions since training camp opened but has played exclusively on the right side since rookie Troy Fautanu injured his knee in the season opener. Jones remained at right tackle Tuesday and will be there Saturday when the Steelers conclude the preseason with a game at Detroit.

“It’s a process in terms of getting better,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “You play, you evaluate, you analyze, you acknowledge and make a plan to get ready for that next opportunity, but, ultimately, responses are gauged by next performances.”

Jones has sported a brace on his right elbow since early in training camp. He said he has been dealing with “multiple things” but added that it was not the reason for his poor performance against Rousseau.

“I’m as healthy as I’m going to get with the season coming up,” he said. “Everybody is always playing with some minor injury. You have to push through it. I play the offensive line. It’s a physical brand of football here.”

The lack of physicality was one of several problems that cropped up against the Bills and were a continuation from the preseason opener against Houston.

The quarterbacks, whether it’s Wilson or Justin Fields taking the snaps, have spent more time on the ground than in the pocket. Penalties have short-circuited drives, third downs haven’t been converted and the first-team offense still hasn’t scored a point.

Not exactly the kind of start new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith envisioned.

“We’ve got to get out of our own way,” Smith said, “and that’s what we have to clean up.”

It remains to be seen how much playing time the starting unit will get in the preseason finale. Suffice it to say, the results produced in Detroit can’t be any worse than what has transpired in the preseason:

• Fields was sacked twice and fumbled two exchanges while playing three series against Houston.

• Wilson generated just 49 yards of offense and two first downs in five drives against Buffalo. The aforementioned three sacks contributed to the string of three-and-out possessions.

• The first-team offense hasn’t taken a snap in the red zone, Chris Boswell’s missed 52-yard field goal represented the closest thing to points for the Steelers in the first half of games and they are a combined 1 for 12 on third down in those initial halves.

“Sometimes it can get distorted good or bad,” Smith said. “Preseason can distort reality good or bad. We’ve all seen it, and I’m not making excuses.”

Case in point: Kenny Pickett had a perfect passer rating in the 2023 preseason when he led the offense to touchdowns on all five of his possessions. That success rate, of course, didn’t translate into the regular season as the Steelers ranked No. 27 in scoring at 17.9 points per game.

“You have to have context,” Smith said, adding, “I’d rather go through that now than have it happen in Week 1. There is a lot going on there.”

Smith admitted to giving Wilson a conservative game plan in the 35-year-old quarterback’s preseason debut. Wilson was held out of the opener as a concession to the calf injury he suffered on the eve of the first training camp workout.

“I give Russ a lot of credit for going out there,” Smith said. “I think a lot of guys in his situation may have tapped out. He hadn’t had enough reps. He wanted to go out there. We limited him with some of the schemes we were trying to do, and clearly it didn’t go the way we wanted it to.”

Wilson completed 8 of 10 attempts against Buffalo but for just 47 yards. His longest completion was a short pass that turned into a 12-yard gain.

“I don’t care how long you’ve been in this league, whether it’s a new system, new city, the great ones want to get out there and get sharpened up to play,” Smith said. “He missed a lot of camp. To protect him from himself there are things (we did) schematically. You don’t want to put him in harm’s way. There is a risk in everything you do out there, but I think that limited him a little bit.”