Broderick Jones, Derrick Harmon won't play against Bills, but Aaron Rodgers should return to Steelers starting lineup

Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Nov 25, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — The PittsburghSteelers will be without starting left tackle Broderick Jones and starting defensive tackle Derrick Harmon for Sunday’s home game against the Buffalo Bills.

Jones, who suffered a neck injury in the fourth quarter of last Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears, will miss his first game of the season. Veteran Calvin Anderson finished the game for Jones, but coach Mike Tomlin said Anderson and fellow veteran Andrus Peat will compete this week for the starting position.

“I feel really comfortable with what Calvin has given us,” Tomlin said. “He’s been that guy. He’s been a swing tackle for us. He’s shown really good capabilities in that area. We’re also extremely comfortable with Peat. That’s one of the reasons why we acquired Peat. There’s a guy who has a resume. He’s started wire to wire. He’s been a starter. He certainly has a different profile than Calvin. We like both guys. Both guys are veteran professionals who have a certain level of preparedness and maturity they bring to work every day. We’re going to work both guys and we’ll have more clarity as we get closer to game time.”

Harmon also was injured against Chicago, but he was able to finish the game. It’s the second knee injury for Harmon this season. He missed the first two games of the season with a knee injury after he was hurt in the preseason finale against the Buccaneers.

Rookie Yahya Black is the mostly likely candidate to start for Harmon, but it also will give Brodric Martin-Rhodes an opportunity to play for the first time since he was signed off the Kansas City practice squad.

“I’m really encouraged by his growth,” Tomlin said of Black. “His play time is reflected by that. We like our D-linemen. We acquired a new one in Brodric. We’re encouraged by the depth we have at that position. I’m sure it will be more than one person.”

Tomlin remains optimistic quarterback Aaron Rodgers will return to the starting lineup. He said after the game this past Sunday that he expected Rodgers to play against the Bills, and that has not changed, although the expectation is Rodgers will be limited again in practice in the early stages of the week. Tomlin said outside linebacker Alex Highsmith also should return after he missed the past two games with a pectoral injury.

A couple of other injuries to monitor: Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. left the Bears game with a hip flexor injury and did not return. He will be limited early in the week. Receiver DK Metcalf suffered an ankle injury, but he returned to the game. He also will be limited early in the week.

What he said

Tomlin on the illegal formation penalty that forced the Steelers to punt late in the Bears game: “We own that as a collective. We didn’t do a good enough job in that moment as a collective. It certainly was a significant play. Oftentimes, you’re defined by your ability to execute under those circumstances when time is of the essence. That’s why we spend so much time working on that component of the game week in and week out. We start out Wednesdays with offense and defense working at pace. We realize you need reps in an effort to be clean there because that was a significant component of the game. We had a chance to have the ball and go back at them. We converted a third-and-4 with [Mason Rudolph’s] legs. But certainly we were illegal there and we were deserving of that penalty.”

Our take

The penalty forced the Steelers to eventually punt the ball back to the Bears. Even though they got the ball back for one final drive, the best chance they had to tie the score was there. Rudolph scrambled 22 yards to the 50-yard line on the play, and the Steelers had plenty of time to get into range for a game-tying field goal attempt.

Running back Kenneth Gainwell motioned to the other side of the formation and did not recognize he had to be on the line of scrimmage. Rudolph also did not notice the error. Unforced errors like those have a way of coming back to haunt teams, and that mistake is one of the biggest reasons the Steelers lost the game.

What’s next

The Steelers lead the all-time series 17-13, but the Bills have won four of the past five. This is the first game in Pittsburgh between these two teams since 2019. The Bills won that game 17-10. Before that loss, the Steelers had won six consecutive games against the Bills in Pittsburgh.

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