Steelers' offense struggles under Russell Wilson, Justin Fields - ESPN

PITTSBURGH — For the second week in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers' first-unit offense failed to put any points on the board as the team dropped Saturday night's preseason game to the Buffalo Bills 9-3.

This time, though, Russell Wilson — making his preseason debut — led the unit to its scoreless outing in five series, while Justin Fields' unit mustered only a field goal in five series of its own.

Wilson, 35, completed 8 of 10 attempts for 47 yards over five series. But the starting offensive line gave up three sacks in the first three series for a loss of 21 yards, and the unit picked up only one first down while averaging a paltry 1.6 yards per play.

«We didn't do a good enough job of protecting the quarterback,» coach Mike Tomlin said. «We've got to do a better job in pass protection than we did — not only in possession downs but just in general. I was really up-front with the group about it in that regard, that can't be a problem for us.»

Playing right tackle, former first-round pick Broderick Jones gave up two of the sacks on Saturday night. Rookie right tackle Troy Fautanu, who sustained a knee injury in the previous game, didn't play against the Bills. Jones declined interview requests after the game.

Because the Steelers failed to sustain drives with Wilson at quarterback, Tomlin said it was difficult to evaluate the veteran's performance.

«It's somewhat of an incomplete study because you just don't get a chance to see them operate or us operate or us establish rhythm and personality when you're not winning possession downs,» Tomlin said.

Wilson's best throw of the day came on third-and-2 during his final series when he hit Van Jefferson over the middle for an 11-yard gain. That drive, though, stalled out a