By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com

The Steelers wore their throwback uniforms on Sunday, but it was definitely the 2007 version of the team that came out and easily defeated the Buffalo Bills 26-3 at Heinz Field, improving their record to 2-0 on the season.

After not getting into the end zone in the first half, counting on Jeff Reed’s four field goals for their offensive output, the Steelers came on strong in the second half and scored two touchdowns to seal the win.

Ben Roethlisberger completed 21 of 34 passes for 242 yards, a touchdown and one interception. Willie Parker carried the ball 23 times for 126 yards, his second 100-yard game of the young season.

“As a team we are very pleased to get a victory today,” said head coach Mike Tomlin. “Some things we did well and some things we can improve on. We are not going to be critics today. We are going to enjoy and come back tomorrow and take a look at some different areas.

“We stalled a little bit in the red zone, particularly in the first half. We were good in other areas offensively. We converted on third-downs. We were very proficient and I thought that was awesome. Defensively we did nice things but they did sustain a drive or two in second half. From a coverage unit standpoint, you have to give those guys credit with their return man. We knew he was a dangerous guy and he confirmed that.”

While the Steelers offense amassed 420 yards, the defense held the Bills to 223 yards and kept them out of the end zone.

“That was big, especially when they had that long kickoff return,” said defensive end Aaron Smith. “They got down in the red zone and to hold them to three was really big. It was an adverse situation. And that’s a big part of winning.”

The Steelers opened the game at their own 26-yard line after Allen Rossum returned the opening kickoff 27 yards. After an incompletion, Roethlisberger completed a nine-yard pass to Nate Washington, giving the Steelers third-and-one. Parker burst off the right end for 21 yards, for a first down at the Bills 44-yard line. An incompletion and short gain by Parker put the Steelers in another third down situation and Roethlisberger took it himself when he scrambled for a 10-yard gain and first down. Parker got the call for a nine yard gain, but was knocked for a two-yard loss on the next carry. He came right back and added a four-yard carry for a first-down. Faced with third and 11 they came up short when Roethlisberger’s pass to Heath Miller only went for five yards along the right sideline. Reed came on for a 34-yard field goal to give the Steelers the early 3-0 lead.

Terrance McGee sparked the Bills with a 44-yard kickoff return, setting them up with great field position at their own 43-yard line. Marshawn Lynch went off left end for a 12-yard gain, but James Harrison sacked J.P. Losman for a seven-yard loss. On third-and-17 Losman got a good chunk of the yardage back with a 15-yard completion to Roscoe Parrish. They went for it on fourth-and-two, but came up short.

The Steelers took over at their own 37-yard line, but would hold on to the ball for long. Roethlisberger’s pass intended for Santonio Holmes was intercepted by Jim Leonhard at the Bills 11-yard line. He returned it 24 yards to the Bills 35-yard line.

Lynch rattled off a nine-yard run off right tackle, but the defense shut him down after that when he had two carries for no gain, forcing the punt.

Roethlisberger moved the ball down the field methodically, mixing the pass and the run. Carey Davis had a four-yard gain and Roethlisberger hit Cedrick Wilson for a 12-yard gain. Parker broke for an 11-yard run up the middle and Roethlisberger went to Ward for a six-yard gain. Roethlisberger went back to Ward for a 12-yard gain and followed with a six-yard completion to him. He kept spreading the ball around, this time going over the middle to Holmes for a nine-yard gain. Roethlisberger went for pay dirt, but his pass to Ward in the end zone was ruled incomplete. He came back with an eight-yard completion to Parker. On third-and-two he looked to his fullback for a short completion, but Dan Kreider couldn’t pull in the short pass. Reed was called upon for his second field goal of the day, giving the Steelers a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The defense stepped up and forced their second three-and-out, putting the ball right back in Roethlisberger’s hands. He continued to keep the Bills defense on their toes, using every weapon available to him. Parker opened with a four-yard gain and then Roethlisberger hit Matt Spaeth for a nine-yard gain. Washington made an acrobatic catch for a 21-yard gain to the Bills 43-yard line and Parker broke off left tackle for a 24-yard gain.

For the third time, the Steelers drive stalled short of the end zone and Reed was called upon to put points on the board, extending the lead to 9-0 with a 39-yard field goal.

“I told Jeff that it’s good when he puts up a lot of points but I’d rather his points be one at a time instead of three,” said Roethlisberger. “I felt like we left a lot out there and it’s encouraging knowing that we still put points up, we still did well on offense, but we still left a lot out there. There is room for improvement.”

Buffalo continued to struggle on offense, putting the ball back in the Steelers hands when they couldn’t go anywhere with just over a minute and a half to play in the half.

The Steelers went into the hurry-up offense with no timeouts left. Roethlisberger got away from Leonhard, but his pass to Washington was incomplete. He came back strong, connecting with Washington for a 30-yard gain to the Bills 40-yard line. He hit Ward for a 10-yard gain to the 30-yard line, and then was forced to spike the ball to stop the clock. A pass to Wilson on the sideline was out of bounds, setting them up with a key third-and-10. Roethlisberger was right on with a 17-yard completion to Holmes.

Roethlisberger stopped the clock with a spike and then looked for Ward in the end zone. The ball was batted away by Jabari Greer, forcing another third-and-10. Greer came up big again for the Bills defense, breaking up a pass to Ward. Reed continued to provide the offensive punch, making his fourth field goal of the day for a 12-0 halftime lead.

There was a scary moment at the end of the half when James Harrison was taken from the field on a stretcher with his neck immobilized. Harrison thankfully did return to the sidelines in the second half although he did not return to action.

The Bills got a huge boost to open the second half when McGee returned the kickoff 63 yards to the Steelers 32-yard line, although the replay showed he stepped out of bounds around the Bills 35-yard line.

Lynch carried the load, putting the Bills in position to put it in the end zone as they drove it to the five yard line. But the defense shut the door, forcing a Rian Lindell 23-yard field goal.

It was right back to business for Roethlisberger and company. Parker pounded the ball, for short yardage and then broke a 16-yard run. Roethlisberger executed a picture-perfect pump-fake and found Holmes, who turned on the after burners for a 27-yard gain to the Bills five-yard line. This time, the Steelers would not be denied the end zone. Roethlisberger hit Matt Spaeth in the end zone for a one-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 19-3.

The Bills started backed up at their own 12-yard line, but consistently moved the ball down the field to the Steelers 21-yard line, where they faced a fourth-and-two. Losman dropped back, but was pressured by Larry Foote who sacked him for a seven-yard loss and forced a fumble, putting the Steelers right back in the drivers seat.

Roethlisberger opened the drive with a 21-yard completion to Ward, but Roethlisberger was sacked for a six-yard loss and for the first time in the game the Steelers were forced to punt.

Losman hit Michael Gaines for a 14-yard completion, but they continued to struggle. Losman stumbled as he was dropping back to pass and Brett Keisel sacked him for an 11-yard loss. An eight-yard completion to Parrish wasn’t enough to dig the Bills out of their hole and they punted.

It didn’t take long for the Steelers to get back on the board. Parker had two carries and Roethlisberger hit Miller for a 29-yard gain to the Bills 11-yard line. Parker took it himself as he went up the middle for the 11-yard score, putting the Steelers in a comfortable position with a 26-3 lead.

There was still some life left in the Bills, who drove down to the Steelers 31-yard line. But things turned bad there. LaMarr Woodley sacked Losman for an eight-yard loss, and then the Bills were called for consecutive unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. They went for it on fourth-down, but were stopped short and turned the ball over on downs.

Charlie Batch came in at quarterback on the Steelers next drive and was able to run out the clock to secure the win.