Bills 16, Steelers 14The preseason is over. Let the NFL season begin.
The Buffalo Bills looked ready for the real thing as they used just a bit of Doug Flutie's magic to spark a 16-14 victory over the sputtering Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL's final exhibition game Saturday night.
"We're ready to go," Bills running back Thurman Thomas said.
Flutie threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jay Riemersma on Buffalo's first possession and Steve Christie added three field goals.
For Pittsburgh, Mike Tomczak threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Will Blackwell with 12 seconds to play, and Kris Brown kicked two field goals, including a 49-yarder.
It wasn't pretty, as both teams focused on finalizing their rosters before Sunday's cuts to 53 players. The season opens Sept. 12.
"It looked a lot like a preseason game," said Bills coach Wade Phillips, whose team committed eight penalties for 89 yards and struggled to run the ball. "There were mistakes; they made a lot more than we did."
The Bills (3-1) beat the Steelers for the first time ever in a preseason game. The Steelers (1-3) continued to have big problems with their offense.
"The preseason is over," Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher said. "I would have liked to have seen a better performance throughout the preseason, especially on offense. We played well at times offensively, but we are what we are."
The Steelers, who lost their last five games last season and let their defense twist in the wind as their offense managed just one touchdown over the last 17 quarters of the season, are in trouble again.
The Steelers finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons.
Bills 16, Steelers 14