The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Buffalo Bills starters, the Bills announced on Friday. Bills head coach Sean McDermott said the plan is to play Allen and the other healthy starters for about a quarter and a half, which matches the four drives that Mike Tomlin outlined on Thursday.
However, depending on the weather, that could change. There is a significant chance of rain on Saturday in Pittsburgh, which could mean that Allen and the rest of the starters will be on the sideline longer than initially planned.
While the Steelers ruled out other players against the Houston Texans last week, they are not doing so on Saturday. Tomlin revealed that everyone healthy, including quarterback Russell Wilson, will play against the Bills.
“We’re not setting anyone aside to minimize their reps or to look at others. All of those that are healthy will participate in the game. That’s our mentality, the sand starting to run through the hourglass in terms of us divvying ourselves up and carving out a role for ourselves in this thing,” Tomlin said. “And so these in-stadium opportunities are limited and weighted differently, and as we go into our second stadium and our last one here in Pittsburgh, we just think it’s appropriate that we have an ‘all-in’ type mentality.”
Wilson and the starting offense will play for about four drives, but that could change based on performance and the weather, as McDermott said with the Bills starters.
The Steelers could also want to see Justin Fields against the Bills’ first-team defense, which could change how they view playing time within the game.
Regardless, the Steelers and Bills will use the game as a tune-up to knock the rust off before their respective Week 1 games.